Walibora never gave up pursuit of a career in letters

We woke up to the news of the death of Kiswahili author and journalist Ken Walibora on Wednesday.

Ken was the author of many books. Those who study Kiswahili rank his contribution to the language alongside that of Julius Nyerere, Shaaban Robert and Walla Bin Walla.

I had known Walibora since our days at Koelel High in the 1980s, where we were in the same A Level class. Every boy had come from a different school. He had come by way of Olkejuado High School but was from Kitale.

I remember him as devout Christian — later a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses — but with an inquisitive mind.

We knew him as Kennedy Wafula Waliaula and had nicknamed him “Alufa”, — a reverse reading of “Wafula”.

He was a great football player, a lanky boy who was the goalkeeper and captain of the school team. He actually broke his leg while playing for Koelel.

Yours truly, then called philosopher, mainly for reading novels, was the unofficial reporter for school games and other events.

At one time, we gatecrashed a Catholic function to be near striking distance of visitors from Njoro Girls High School. For our troubles, we were sent home for two weeks.

How we survived re-entry into Koelel, which was then headed by Mr Gichuki Kenda — the first headmaster I ever saw wearing a school uniform — I cannot tell.

He had been brought to the school soon after bullies had thrown some boy over a cliff.

We had a common class in English literature, which was taught by Mrs Ghikas. His other subjects were Kiswahili, which he took under Mr Ngure, and geography under Miss Celistine Muganda. The truth is, we focused on novels instead of textbooks.

Ken was a genius when it came to languages. The world knows his prowess in Kiswahili but he could write equally well in English.

English was his language of scholarship. He wrote his PhD in English and published several academic papers in the language.

At Koelel, he penned poems and regaled us with many mashairi. I hope some of those early works will be rediscovered and published.

After A Level, Ken trained as a probation officer while I pursued journalism. We used to meet while in different colleges in Nairobi.

He envied my luck and I felt bad about it knowing where his heart really was.

There is something to be said about the nature of abiding resilience and focus. Those with evergreen resilience always get what they ask for. Ken never gave up the pursuit of a career in letters.

A great deal has been said about the correlation between great grades and success. May it continue to be said, but here is an enduring truth from Ken’s life.

To be successful, you need niggardly weak-mindedness and ample doggedness.

Ken later came to terms with his grades in the national exam but they did not reflect his abilities. Grades are an unreliable measure of success, as the lives of greats like professors Ali Mazrui and Calestous Juma show. His success is another sediment to the testimony of that fact.

While still working as a probation officer, Ken eventually found his way to the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, initially on a talk show, before gravitating into newscasting.

He later went for further education in Ohio, completing his PhD at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Along the way, he worked for NMG as an anchor. He was until his death a senior lecturer at Riara University.

On his LinkedIn profile, he penned the following about himself: “I am an avid reader and good keen observer and patient listener. Like all humans I make mistakes from time to time, regret them, and I apologise, but most importantly, I learn from them and move on. I strive to attain more humility in all spheres of my life in good and bad times, and to always avoid being prejudicial and celebrating another person’s calamity. I want to appreciate people more and not to judge them harshly by relying on one-sided sources.”

Clearly, Ken desired to be understood in a particular way, an acknowledgement that no one is an open book. Not even book writers.

In our classmates’ WhatsApp group, and in the larger Koelel Alumni group, news about his death hit like a rogue train.

We just couldn’t believe that in these days of the coronavirus, death would come by way of a road accident. Let’s just say it kills us sometimes how we all die.

May Ken’s soul rest in peace.

Dr Ngugi teaches at the University of Nairobi.