Adieu Chebet, a top editor, poet and storyteller

Chebet Karago, the journalist, poet and advocate for people with Psoriasis (a chronic skin disease), who was buried on Tuesday, left an indelible mark in the hearts of many.

Fellow journalists, especially at Nation Media Group (NMG), where she was the pioneer editor of Young Nation magazine, remember Chebet for her passion for children and young people.

I became friends with Chebet the first time I met her at the University of Nairobi in 1979.

We were undergraduates; she in the Department of Design and I in the Faculty of Arts.

We formed a friendship that would see us through family and professional life.

Chebet was fun to be with. She had a calm demeanour, was a good listener and could she tell a story.

Ever the artist, she was always turned out in colourful clothes and jewellery. She wore understated makeup that enhanced her complexion and facial features.

Chebet was the daughter of Chege Kibachia, a labour rights activist who was detained by the colonial government.

Top students

She was born in 1958 during her father’s incarceration in Kabarnet, Baringo. It was where Kibachia met and married Chebet’s mother, Sokome Cheboiwo – a freedom and justice activist.

They later settled in Mombasa where Chebet attended Mombasa Primary School before proceeding to Alliance Girls High School.  She joined the University of Nairobi in 1978 and left in 1981.

Years later, she went for her master’s degree in communications at Northern Illinois University in the US, where she was among the top students in her class.

I am not the only person who counted this beautiful, humble, highly intelligent soul among her best friends.

Upon her demise, there has been an outpouring of grief from people across the planet who saw Chebet as a special friend and person.

Chebet had that rare gift of forging and keeping friendships wherever she went.

She took a genuine interest in people and was generous, kind and compassionate.

I experienced her compassion many times. My family viewed her as a daughter and sister and loved her dearly.

When my sister passed away two years ago, Chebet accompanied me for her service in Meru. 

My sister died from cancer in the US. During her long illness, Chebet would regularly call from Kenya to encourage her.

Another example of this empathy was in her relation with Flora Wokabi, who she met through me. Flora was partially paralysed following a stroke. Her journey to recovery includes taking walks. Until the first Covid-19 case was recorded in Kenya, Chebet would meet up with Flora at Parklands Club on Tuesdays to help her walk around the track.

It is humbling to know that Chebet did the same for many others.

She supported and educated a number relatives and friends. A philanthropist, Chebet would regularly collect clothes to donate to the needy in Juja and Kimbo.

Children and young people were drawn to her. Chebet spent a lot of time mentoring young people in art and publishing. It was not unusual for her to host young people at her Ruiru home.

Chebet was a long-serving secretary of the Psoriasis Association of Kenya, a voluntary position.

Young people

She was a gifted wordsmith, taking her into the publishing for most of her working life. Chebet had a long career in editing, including at NMG where she was the first editor of Young Nation.

Chebet started off at NMG as an editor of What’s On, an entertainment booklet, before she was asked to help think through a publication for young people.

“It turned out she was very well-informed about what the magazine should look like. She helped to shape the Young Nation and became its first editor,” Mr Joseph Odindo, a former Editorial Director at NMG, said.

He added that Chebet read widely. She was also obsessed with language quality.

“If anybody was exceedingly distressed by the falling standards of grammar, it was Chebet. She would come to my office with the newspaper, having marked the mistakes,” Mr Odindo said.

Chebet was always ready to contribute to discussions on rethinking content for other publications like the Saturday Magazine, he added.

NMG Editorial Director Mutuma Mathiu described Chebet as a fantastic editor, who was passionate about journalism for children.

Among the books Chebet edited was Rev John Gatu’s Fanning the Flame. The author appreciated her work with a special mention in the book. Rev Gatu was her uncle and a past moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.

Chebet’s poem I Will Soldier On received special recognition by the publishers of the book Best Poets and Poems of 2004.

At the time of her demise, she was an editing and publishing consultant.

Chebet married Waweru Karago in 1980 and they were blessed with three sons – Njiiri, Chege and Kinyanjui.

When Njiiri called on March 18 to inform me that Chebet was in hospital, we hoped and prayed that she would get well.

It was not to be. Chebet took a turn for the worse and passed on at 7.15pm.

She created a beautiful home in Ruiru where her family laid her to rest on Tuesday.

The tributes from her many friends and relatives attest to Chebet’s strong character.

Those who knew Chebet have lost a compassionate friend. She was a loving wife and mother. We are deeply saddened by the passing of Chebet but take comfort in the knowledge that she has returned to her Creator.

We thank Him for the 62 years he gave Chebet, her life’s work and enduring love for all.

[email protected]