Leonard Mambo Mbotela is one of Kenya’s renowned broadcasters and journalists whose career spanned close to five decades.
The veteran radio presenter made a name for himself in the media industry because of his skills in football commentating and his programme, Je Huu ni Ungwana, which turned out to be one of the longest shows in the Kenyan media. He started disappearing from the limelight in 2010 after step away from radio and Tv programmes.
Here is a brief story about his life;
Early Life and Education
Mbotela, 82, is one of the 8 children of James and Ida Mbotela. He was born and raised at Freretown in Mombasa. His father was among the first teachers in East Africa while his mother was involved with community development.
He began his education at Freretown Primary School between 1948 and 1953 before proceeding to Buxton from 1954 to 1958. Afterwards, he got an admission at Kitui High School.
Career
After concluding his high school education, in 1963, he landed a job as a trainee reporter for the East African Standard in Nakuru before proceeding to work for Baraza, a newspaper owned by The Standard.
He later got an opportunity to train at Voice of Kenya(now KBC) because his passion was in broadcast media. In 1964, he was hired as a Swahili presenter and would host his show Salamu Za Vijana as well as read news reports.
He launched his popular Je Huu ni Ungwana in 1966. In 1967, he became a soccer announcer. Other popular radio shows that he hosted include Uhalifu Haulipi, Ongea Lugha Sinifi and Waliofisika.
In his career, he was once forced to announce on air that Moi’s government had been overthrown by rebels at gunpoint. That was in 1982. Rebels accosted him because his voice was so popular across the country.
He also served as a member of the late Daniel Moi’s press unit for 7 years after the 1982 incident. At the time, he still recorded his Jee huu ni ungwana show and send them to KBC.
He then returned to KBC and retired from station in 1997 but the station continued to use his services for a number of years later.
Family
Mbotela married his wife Alice Mwikali in 1970 and were blessed with three children namely; Ida, Jimmy and George.
Life After Retirement
In 2017, rumors spread quickly that Mbotela was no more after encountering a road accident. He was forced to clear the air while those responsible for spreading the rumor apologized for their mistake.
In October 2020, the radio presenter was hospitalized at Nairobi South Hospital after seriously falling ill with hospital bills accumulating to Kshs1.1 million.
He was forced to appeal to the public to help him settle the bill before he was allowed to leave the hospital. President Uhuru Kenyatta is among those who helped in clearing the bill.
He recently made a comeback in the limelight after being appointed by Sports, Culture and Heritage CS Amina Mohammed as a member of the National Heroes Council.
The appointment was effective August 5, 2022 and he will serve in the position for three years. Before that, he resided in Mombasa with his family.
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