[dropcap]T[/dropcap]o news correspondents who worked for Nation Media Group in the 1990s in Western Kenya, Abdulhussein Ebrahim Daya alias Abdul Dahya, was more than a newspaper distributor. He was a father figure and a mobile bank.
We stopped to greet him with respect whenever he walked or swept across the streets of Kisumu in his trade Mark white Toyota Corolla Station wagon. Because of the little money we earned those days, Mzee Dahya took it upon himself to save us from the agony of making queues in commercials banks to encash the cheques, many of which amounted to less than Ksh 2,000.
We could get the cheques sent through the Bureau Chief and quickly dash to Dahya’s office which was tucked in a dark alley on the ground floor of Jubilee House to turn them into cash.
Dahya was a man of few words. He never asked questions. You enter his office with cheque in hand and you come out smiling within minutes.
Some of us would then sneak into the nearby Lem Lem, one of the most famous pubs in Kisumu at the time, to wet our throats and console ourselves after a month-long toil in search of news.
Dahya, who died on March 9, 2019 at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu, leaves a rich legacy in newspaper distribution in Kenya. Dahya’s work as a distributor was as old as the Nation newspaper itself, having started distributing it in the early 1960s. He was buried on March 12 at the Ismaeli Cemetry in Kisumu in a solemn ceremony attended by his family and close friends.
Dahya’s only driver – a polite, roundly built native of Luhyaland, was later to bear a son, who grew up in the shadows of NMG and later became a journalist.
As a former nominated councillor and deputy mayor in the now defunct Kisumu Municipal Council , an influential businessman and the chairman of the Ismaili Community in Kisumu for years, Dahya, walked tall in Kisumu.
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He always jogged in the mornings and his home just opposite Kisumu open air market was swarmed by many locals seeking help. He also played golf and was due to turn 90 this coming June.
Whenever we went to his office, he would share story ideas, some of which turned out to be Page One splashes. As Nyanza’s “Vendor No1”, Dahya had a nose for good stories and would tell you the kind of stories that sold the newspaper.
He once walked unannounced to my desk to break a story of a tragic accident that had killed more than 10 people on the Kisumu-Kakamega road. It was the splash the following day and Dahya was over the moon.
The deceased’s eldest daughter, Judy Khan, said their father died peacefully as the doctor attended to him.
“His death came as a shocker. There was absolutely nothing serious in his health,” she said.
Born and brought up in Kisumu, Dahya knew every corner of the Lakeside town. Besides distributing the Newspapers, Dahya also delved in other businesses. He was a religiously influential figure.
In 1981, while serving as the Chairman of the Kisumu Ismaili Provincial Council, welcomed H.H. Aga khan to Kisumu. In March 2010, he was honoured by the Aga Khan as part of the Nation Media Group’s 50th anniversary celebration that was held at the KICC in Nairobi.
His family described him as a Kisumu legend who took his distribution duties seriously, always ensuring that the newspapers reach the market in time.
“He had his heart in the media company. He always left home early to tour the region to supervise the distribution of newspapers in the market,” said his 79-year-old wife Zarin.
Many journalists have eulogized Mzee Dahya as a great newspaper distributor.
“He was a master newspaper vendor. I remember those days when circulation guys were trying to blame editorial for shrinking newspaper sales. He would offer very insightful observations. We have lost a great newspaper industry veteran indeed,” says veteran investigative journalist Patrick Mayoyo.
Former Nation Editor, Caleb Atemi, who worked in Kisumu as a Bureau Chief in the 1990s eulogised him thus: “Abdul Daya was indeed our bank. When I was the Nation Media Group Bureau Chief, Kisumu, I would refer all my staff payment issues to Dahya. At times, he would even extend to us advance salaries. Mzee Dahya’s advice, humour and jokes are surely missed.”
Dahya also suffered misfortunes as he made sure the Nation and Taifa Leo were read far and wide.
In 1969, his teenage son, Alnoor, was among several people gunned down by President Jomo Kenyatta’s security guards in the infamous Kisumu “massacre” following a standoff with his former vice president Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Chaos had broken out at the Russia Hospital – today’s Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital after President Kenyatta publicly disagreed with Oginga as his supporters demanded answers over the killing of Tom Mboya. The hospital is adjacent to Dahya’s residence and his son was shot in the their compound.
In 1999, Dahya escaped death after robbers shot and wounded him before stealing Ksh 500,000 he was taking to the bank. Such was the life of a man who grew from a simple ‘Dukawalla” to a great player in the growth of Newspaper Industry in Kenya. Go thee well “Wuod Kisumo” (the son of Kisumu).
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