Distinguished author and former NMG employee Ken Walibora is dead
Renowned linguist, author and journalist Prof Ken Walibora is dead.
Prof Walibora lost his life after being knocked down by a matatu on Landhies Road on Friday.
He had been missing since Friday, with his family searching for him for days.
The journalist, who worked for decades with the Nation Media Group, was knocked down by a matatu on Landhies Road in downtown Nairobi.
It is suspected that Walibora, famed for his Swahili novel Siku Njema, died on the spot.
His body was found on Wednesday morning at the Kenyatta National Hospital where police officers from Kamukunji police station took it to after the accident.
Some of his most famous books include Siku Njema, which was published in 1996 and used as a secondary school set book in Kenyan schools, Ndoto ya Amerika, Kidagaaa Kimemuozea and Naskia Sauti ya Mama, a memoir of his childhood.
A teacher by profession, Walibora served as a Swahili High School teacher between 1985 and 1986.
He also worked as a probation officer at the Ministry of Home Affairs between 1988 and 1996.
Later he joined Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) as a Swahili radio news anchor, news editor and translator.
He held a PhD in Comparative Cultural Studies from Ohio State University in the US.
He served as an assistant professor in African Languages at the University of Wisconsin before taking up the position of Kiswahili quality manager at Nation Media Group until January 2017.
His friends and family have paid glowing tribute to the polished author.