Farewell, Prof Walibora, world of letters is the poorer without you
What you need to know:
The involvement of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations is timely as claims that Walibora died in a road accident left too many unanswered questions.
The absence of a witness to an alleged early afternoon accident on a busy road is doubtful.
Kenyatta National Hospital must address claims that he was denied medical attention.
Not only would such a despicable act be criminal, but devastating to those who loved Walibora.
The unexpected demise, on Good Friday, of the celebrated author, linguist and director of Global and Language Studies Centre at Riara University, Ken Walibora, shocked many around the world.
An eminent scholar and prolific writer, Walibora was a highly accomplished yet self-effacing individual who did not allow fame and stardom to eclipse his humble beginnings in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties. At his memorial, he was eulogised as a devout Jehovah’s Witness who routinely participated in their Christian activities, like house-to-house canvassing and conducting free home Bible studies.
Deputy President William Ruto posted on social media that the nation would miss Walibora’s great depth of knowledge, positive orientation, wit and resilience, the DP aptly said Walibora was an outstanding academic, ingenious author and prolific journalist with a charming personality and humour.
Like many others, the DP said the fallen scholar was a man of great insight and brevity and had monumental energy and vision when pushing Kiswahili language-related issues.
The young Walibora went to Suwerwa Secondary — a small, nondescript school in Cherangany, before moving to Nairobi, where he masterfully juggled school and a blossoming career in journalism — initially as a radio sportscaster and later news anchor with NTV.
It was then that he published his riveting masterpiece, Siku Njema, which challenged the long-standing bias towards Kiswahili authors and scholars from Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. The brilliantly written novel was an instant hit and became a set book and a mandatory read for years.
Walibora’s work upended our conceptualisation and understanding of Kiswahili scholarship. Until then, there had been no such prolific non-coastal Kiswahili writer.
As a member of the diaspora community, Walibora helped Kenyans to pursue graduate studies in America, including at the Ohio State University, where he obtained his master’s and doctorate degrees. Among his academic progenies was Dr Anne Chebet Rotich of the University of Virginia, assistant professor Dr Karen Ngonya Stringer and Mabel Mutoro of Unicef in New York.
He supported, mentored and inspired many others professionally and through his impressive body of scholarship.
Walibora’s death marked yet another random accident involving someone from the media. Previously, the police claimed NTV video editor Raphael Nzioki and Christine Omulando, a sub-editor with The EastAfrican, died in accidents involving matatus in Nairobi’s city centre. In all these cases, police rushed unidentified victims to the hospital who later died. Family members say they found the bodies in mortuaries after days of searching.
The rare coincidence of missing IDs aside, there can be no excuse for the police to give worried family members runaround when such incidents are said to be properly and timely documented at the police stations, which are supposed to be fully computerised.
We have lost a man of great intellect and character and look to the law enforcement agencies to expeditiously unravel the circumstances surrounding his death. The involvement of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations is timely as claims that Walibora died in a road accident left too many unanswered questions. The absence of a witness to an alleged early afternoon accident on a busy road is doubtful.
Kenyatta National Hospital must address claims that he was denied medical attention. Not only would such a despicable act be criminal, but devastating to those who loved Walibora, including his two daughters.
As if speaking to us, Prof Walibora wrote: “Like all humans, I make mistakes from time to time, I regret them, and I apologise, but most importantly, I learn and move on. I strive to attain more humility in all spheres of my life in good times and bad times, and to always avoid being prejudicial and celebrating another person’s crisis or calamity.”
Mr Chesoli is a New York-based development economist and global policy expert. [email protected] @kenchesoli
