Youth Affairs and Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba on October 25, 2023, awarded veteran journalist Leonard Mambo Mbotela Sh1 million and a trophy in recognition of his contribution to the nation.
The CS paid a visit to the veteran broadcaster at his residence in Nairobi to check on his health condition.
According to the CS, the award is for his contribution to the nation through broadcasting.
The Sports CS commended the legendary broadcaster for what he termed as nurturing and mentoring many journalists in the country today.
The money, according to the CS, will cater to his medicare.
He worked at the Presidential Press Service between 1984 and 1990 under former President Moi’s (now deceased) regime, a tenure he says gave him the chance to practice journalism extensively in Kenya and the world over.
In 1982, Mbotela became the voice most heard around the nation, as he reported about the attempted coup against the late president Daniel Arap Moi.
This prompted him to write a book about it which he penned in 2021 where he talked of his harrowing experience.
In his book, Mbotela says that on a cold morning, he was picked up by the officers from his house at Government Quarters in Ngara and was taken to Voice of Kenya (now KBC) studios along Harry Thuku road.
At gunpoint, he was ordered to read a script that declared that Moi’s government had been overthrown.
He was in the middle of the attempted coup, not as a participant or a target, but as a ‘conduit’ that was misused by the rebel soldiers to send their message home. “I had two options; to announce that Moi had been deposed, or to be shot.”
“From today, the government of Kenya has been overthrown. All prisoners are now free and all police officers are civilians. You are ordered to stay at your homes and we will relay more information as time goes by.”
For his courage during the 1982 coup, Mbotela was granted the Head of State Commendation (HSC) and later the Order of Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW).
