Ngumbao Kithi: The ‘sheikh’ of Coast journalism who died smiling

OBITUARY

Ngumbao Kithi, a veteran journalist who plied his trade in Coast region, died on Wednesday May 11^th, 2016, just a day to his 46^th birthday. Ngumbao breathed his last while being taken to hospital after developing breathing complications.

Ngumbao was well-known as a senior reporter at the Nation Media Group for more than a decade and at the Standard newspaper as the bureau chief during which he brushed shoulders with both the high and mighty as well as the downtrodden. He always wore a smile, even if the situation deserved a sulk!

Ngumbao, who was trained at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), has been battling a heart condition since 2006. His work and enthusiasm never betrayed his illness. He remained a defender of the Coastal people and the region’s watchdog to his death.

When his death came, there was no warning. He developed breathing difficulties after dropping his children to school. “He was fine. He took his two sons to school and when he returned home, he took breakfast and his medication. He said he wanted to rest but that is when he developed an abnormal heart rhythm, which is sometimes normal for him since his operation in 2006,” said his sister, Mapenzi Kithi.



He then asked his wife to call their pastor, who prayed for him but when the condition worsened, they decided to rush him to hospital.

Ngumbao passed on barely a year after taking early retirement from Standard Media after serving at the group for nine years, where he worked as a senior reporter at the Mombasa Bureau.

Gumbao’s ever present smile gave him the look of a soft guy. But behind that facet was a ferocious journalist with a very nice sense of humour. For his steadfastness in journalism, his colleagues often called him ‘Sheikh’.

Phionah Mwadilo, a former sports reporter based in Mombasa, said Gumbao was not easy to annoy. “He was a friend, a mentor, advisor and a person of big heart,” she told Business Today. “I used to always hang around him and even have lunch with him. We would laugh our hearts out.”

Bungoma County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed described Kithi as an honest and hardworking journalist. “He has been a close friend of mine since my days as district commissioner in Mombasa,” said Maalim.

Cathy Gitahi, former Standard journalist and now PR practitioner, wrote on his Facebook wall: “May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding be with the family of this man Ngumbao Kithi. A real friend; true helper with a clean heart to boot; He was number one in Coast in reporting tobacco control stories and mobilizing other journalists on the same.”




Standard journalist Nzau Musau eulogized him thus: “When I was posted in Mombasa in 2007 to head the Coast bureau of former Kenya Times, one man gave me a succour I needed. Ngumbao Kithi encouraged me despite the great odds i faced as a new man in town, and as a young man too. Today I thank God for his life. Go ye well, man.”

Mohammed Hersi, a hotelier, said: He was my friend way before social media was discovered and we relied on people like Ngumbao to tell the world about matters tourism at the Kenyan coast. Ten years ago he was diagnosed with a heart condition and spent quite some time in ICU and he did come out come out of it .With Almighty’s blessings he managed to go back to work but under medication

From time to time we would bump into each other and smiling he would  tell me that he was doing just fine and never lamenting. Well, his Journey has finally come to an end, Ngumbao , without you Mombasa and Kenya coast is today poorer. The media fraternity will surely miss you.

You were indeed a true friend to Kenya’s tourism industry. Our heartfelt condolences to your family. My Bro fare thee well. May your soul rest in peace.

Kelvin Karani Gitonga: On August 2014, Ngumbao Kithi (pictured) called me and asked me to help him pursue a story on a 14 years old Kwekwe Mwandaza who was killed in Kinango, Kilifi County in the year 2014. He told me that we should ensure the girl and her family gets justice. That was the beginning as we blew the story leading to the arrest of officers who were accused of killing her (the two officers are currently serving a jail term of 7 years for manslaughter). Today, Ngumbao Kithi is no more. A mentor, colleague, and a man who always encouraged everyone when things went wrong. Rest In Peace.

Below is video of how family members reacted to his death.