KBC veteran journalist Lenard Mambo Mbotela has been sworn in as a member of the Kenya National Heroes Council.
Chief Justice Martha Koome presided over the veteran broadcaster’s inauguration as a member of the council on Monday, September 26.
The council is in charge of identifying and selecting national heroes to be honored by the nation.
“Witnessed the swearing-in of Leonard Mambo Mbotela as a member of the National Heroes Council following his appointment last month.
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“The mandate of the National Heroes Council which includes the identification, selection and honouring of national heroes is an important one as our national story is largely the narrative of the contribution by our heroes to nation building,” announced Koome.
“We can build a new culture and practice of identifying, celebrating and supporting our unsung heroes and heroines when they’re still with us. That is the only modest way through which we can show appreciation for their heroic acts,” she added.
CS for Sports and Culture who is leaving Mbotela was appointed to the position by Amina Mohammed on August 5. He is expected to serve in the position for three years.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 4 (3) of the Kenya Heroes Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage appoints Leonard Mambo Mbotela as a member of the National Heroes Council, for a period of three years with effect from the 5th August, 2022”, read the Gazette notice at the time.
Mbotela, a long-serving broadcaster at KBC during its days as the Voice of Kenya, ran into financial difficulties in December 2020 when former President Uhuru Kenyatta secretly paid his Ksh1 million hospital bill.
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The veteran revealed in March 2021 that doctors at Nairobi South Hospital informed him that he had been discharged and that someone had paid his Ksh1 million hospital bill in cash.
Only later, while watching the news on TV, did Mbotela learn that the Head of State had approved his bill.
The 82-year-old retired in the late 1990s but returned to the airwaves on KBC TV and radio.
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Veteran 👍