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Maybe it was having football legend Joe Kadenge as a neighbour in Nakuru while growing up, or it was passion for broadcast developed at a young age with a bottle as a microphone and following pioneer Kenyan radio legends like Stephen Kikumu.
Maybe it was his unique voice, attention to detail and linguistic flair.
What was certain was that Leonard Mambo Mbotela combined the most desired qualities in the art of football commentary to be one of the best Kenya has ever produced.
His connection with listeners, as his descriptions in Kiswahili opened a visual window to those following him on Voice of Kenya (renamed Kenya Broadcasting Corporation) radio.
In his 2023 book Jee Huu Ni Ungwana? he writes of how he picked Kikumu’s phrases.
“One of my favourite duties was to broadcast football matches. For many years I had admired Kikumu’s job as a football commentator and I always remember his clear voice as he would say ‘Kadenge na mpira.’ I never imagined that one day I would be in his from his role model.”
Veteran radio broadcaster Leonard Mambo Mbotela during a past football match at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi.
Football as a foreign sport introduced to Kenya by early missionaries forced pundits to do direct translation and Mambo was very good at it. How else would they translate words like ‘corner, penalty’ or simply ‘card.' These became kona, penalti and kadi in Kiswahili.
Mambo would scream on air phrases like “amepiga mkwaju kimo cha kuku” or “kimo cha mbuzi” meaning a shot as low as the height of a chicken or goat.”
In the late1970s before Nyayo Stadium was built, the only football ground was the historic City Stadium.
Mambo and his fellow commentators would squeeze themselves in two small cubicles perched at the top of the main stand. With KBC as the only radio and TV station, Mambo, Ali Salim Manga, Salim Mohamed were celebrities in their own right. The most popular bit was when Mambo asked fans to give their opinion and predict the outcome of the games.
In his autobiography, he says “I accompanied the national football team, Harambee Stars, to various countries around Africa for continental matches.
Leonard Mambo Mbotela during a media briefing in Nairobi on October 19, 2022.
Besides commentating football, I also enjoyed the game as I relayed it live to the fans. Whenever I was impressed by a player, I would not hesitate to show it.
I would refer to good strikers such as Joe Kadenge, Ambrose Ayoyi, Mike Weche, or Josephat Murila of AFC Leopards as Golden Boy, Super Boy, Controller and so on when they made exciting moves on the pitch.
"Such heaps of praise often put me in trouble with opposing fans, especially Gor Mahia, who would approach my bosses and complain about what they termed as ‘Mbotela’s favouritism towards AFC Leopards’,” he says.
In his days as a pundit, good footballers were given nicknames by commentators or fans. Such was the effect of Mambo that he freely used nicknames but still had his audience following.
With time, Leonard Mambo mentored young and upcoming commentators like Ken Walibora, Jack Oyoo Sylvester and Eric Munene.
Kenyan football did not go without its fair share of intrigues or ‘maajabu’. One day at the City Stadium, there was an incident during a match when a monitor lizard suddenly appeared from nowhere. It ran towards the pitch and made to cross over towards the ‘Russia' side.
April 15, 1964: Its announced that Kenya Broadcasting Corporation is to be taken over by the Government. The new service will be a self-accounting department in the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Tourism, and will be known as "The Voice of Kenya.Here, one of the VOK veteran radio presenter Leonard Mambo Mbotela in studio.
Abaluhya FC was playing against a certain team whose name I can’t remember. With Mambo on the mic, the incident was as dramatic as it came.
While some fans thought there were supernatural events at play, the City Stadium was rather neglected, unkempt and bushy except the playing surface and the main stand. It was not unusual for it to harbour reptiles no wonder fans named the open-air side ‘Snake Park’.
Leonard Mambo had this ability to describe everything in finer details so radio listeners who were not in the stadium would imagine the match atmosphere in the stadium.
Describing the physique of different players was another joy when listening to Mambo as he would launch a string of unique adjectives.
As he is laid to rest, Leonard Mambo has left a lasting legacy in our sports commentary.
