Whatever job Philip Lamech Wangalwa did, passing on correct information was at its core.
He started as a primary school teacher in the colonial days, rising to a head teacher in the late 1950s. Then he ventured into information management, eventually becoming a senior journalist and editor. He retired in 1990.
The veteran journalist, information professional and teacher died aged 93. He was buried on May 17.
Former colleagues in the newsroom at the Nation and the Standard describe him as a natural teacher, who not only assigned reporters stories, but also explained his concept of the news story, ensuring the journalists wrote what they understood.
“He was as patient as a true primary school teacher who wanted his things done methodically. He did not patronise young reporters to project his power and influence,” Wanganya Muraya, a retired journalist, who worked with Wangalwa in the 1980s, said.
He said Wangalwa, who was at one time a bureau chief in Western and Kisumu before becoming deputy news editor at the Nation, was firm but gentle, giving reporters space to make mistakes and learn.
But his demand for discipline and commitment was unwavering.
“One day, Wangalwa had assigned me to cover a political rally during the Kanu election dramas but a script I had written got lost. He did not want to hear anything,” he said.
Wangalwa started his career as a teacher at Maseno Junior School in 1955 before becoming a head teacher at Munami primary.
In 1958, he quit teaching and got a job at the Met department in Nairobi. He was later employed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and was sent to Kisumu.
At Independence in 1963, he was appointed the Coast region’s provincial information officer.
The following year, he became the first black presidential press secretary for President Jomo Kenyatta.
A year later, he was posted as an information attaché at the Kenyan High Commission in London.
Wangalwa later served in senior government jobs as information officer, PRO for then Voice of Kenya and at one point, acting director of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, before venturing into mainstream print journalism.