HILARY, MY
MAIN JOURNALISTIC MENTOR
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 19 may 2018)
I call
Hilary Ng’weno the ‘grandfather of Kenyan journalism’. And I applaud the family
from putting the spotlight on Hilary’s contribution to journalism in this
country. There’s little doubt that he put Kenyan journalism on the global media
map. And not only because he was the first indigenous African editor in chief
of a leading English-language publication in Kenya, having taken on that title
and task in 1965 for the Daily Nation, the most widely read daily newspaper in
Kenya.
He caught
media experts’ attention even more assiduously when he came out with Weekly
Review (in 1975), the weekly (Newsweek-styled) political magazine that many Kenyans
read as if it was a political ‘gospel’. So plugged in was Hilary into the
political pulse of the nation that his grassroots reporting was studied abroad
as well as locally. It was the concern of those who wanted to understand what
was actually happened on the ground as the country was breaking post-colonial
ground and the shifting tides of activity and intrigue weren’t easily
decipherable except by local journalists working with Hilary who could read
between the lines and interpreted what was really going on.
I had the
good fortune of getting a ground-floor job at The Nairobi Times after Hilary
decided (in 1977) to start a weekly newspaper that he would advertise as
producing ‘quality journalism’ and catering for an emerging business class who,
among other things, valued culture and the arts as well as business news and
politics. I was hired to write about culture, entertainment and the arts,
focusing on indigenous culture and highlighting African talents in all aspects
of the arts.
It was my
privilege to be hired by Hilary several months before the newspaper actually
came out since that meant I could hear his pearls of wisdom regarding how to
fulfill my job description, given I had only one journalism job before his
(with the National Christian Council of Kenya at its weekly publication, “Target”)
and I had just completed a master’s degree in Literature from University of
Nairobi. So I felt Hilary actually hired me on trust, his trust of my former
editor, the late Odhiambo Okite, and the quality of my interview with him which
was thoughtful and honest.
Hilary also hadn’t
gotten a degree in journalism. His field had been nuclear physics at Harvard (I
believe) and then I think he studied for a time under Henry Kissinger. But that
is hearsay since I didn’t learn those details from the man himself. In fact, I
had been advised early on to keep my distance from my boss since the No. 2 in
the office, Sarah, didn’t like people (particularly women) getting too close to
him. Nonetheless, the few conversations I had with him were always instructive
and I credit much of the knowledge I have working in journalism as come from
Hilary.
Hilary has
always been way ahead of his time journalistically, and in other ways as well.
His work in documentary filmmaking has yet to be fully recognized or
appreciated for what it means in the way of permanently archiving the lives of
great Kenyan leaders. He may be celebrating the sort of birthday that implies
it is time for him to retire. But if that time ever comes, be assured Hilary
leaves a journalistic legacy that deserves study and emulating by other up-and-coming
Kenyans who would wish to hold a candle to this ‘guka’ of the Kenyan Media.
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