Africa-Press – Kenya. On October 28, family, friends and fans gathered at the Montezuma Funeral Home to accompany Kimani Mbugua on his final journey home.
Emotions ran high and tears flowed freely as mourners viewed Kimani’s body before travelling to Maragua, Murang’a County, his final resting place at their home. Among them was Kimani’s father, Dedan Kimathi.
A man lost for words, a father in pain. An emotional moment that soon went viral online, with more and more Kenyans coming together to offer their condolences and support to the grief-stricken father.
Kimani was loved not only by his family, but also by friends and strangers, who all admired and enjoyed his work as a journalist. He was a bright journalism student at Moi University, who raised the bar when he joined the Nation Media Group at only 19.
He began his career as a journalist in his early days at the university’s main campus in Kesses, where he was one of a group of budding journalists who took up slots as anchors and presenters on Moi University Radio (MUFM). He embraced the spotlight with grace, captivating listeners across the campus with his mellow voice from October 2013 to May 2016.
Then, in 2015, an opportunity arose. A chance to join the Nation Media Group. NMG was running a recruitment programme inviting young broadcast journalists from campuses across the country to take part in trial shows.
Being just how good he was, Kimani made the cut and joined the mdia giant as a trainee university student.
He seized the opportunity and built his reputation, scaling new heights, and soon took up other roles, including working as an entertainment news reporter and producer on NTV. He even co-hosted The Trend show alongside Larry Madowo at one point.
In 2019, he transitioned to Royal Media Services (RMS) as a broadcast journalist at Citizen TV. Here, he continued to shine and was renowned for his humorous features and his lively way of storytelling. At Citizen TV, he was a broadcast and digital producer but that’s not all he had to offer at the company. He also took on roles at Inooro FM and Hot 96.
At RMS, he was known for his traffic updates and a light-hearted segment on the 9 pm bulletin on Fridays, in which he asked members of the public to explain things to the amusement of the audience.
He also presented The Happy Hour on Hot 96 FM alongside Citizen TV presenters Willis Raburu and Patrick Igunza, which aired from 3 to 7pm on Fridays.
After leaving legacy media, Kimani turned to creating online content. During this period, he joined Kenyans.co.ke, expanding his reach as a broadcast journalist by producing high-quality video content for the media outlet.
He joined the Kenyans.co.ke teams in 2020 until 2021 when he hosted an online show – Speed Feed. This was a live show he hosted every weekday at 2pm exploring the day’s trending stories and biggest news.
Check out some of Kimani’s Speed Feed Content HERE
Around 2019, his family noticed that he was behaving unusually. After taking him for medication in 2020, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He once posted a video of himself having a breakdown, which drew attention to his struggles.
He experienced repeated relapses and even started abusing substances. This resulted in him going in and out of rehabilitation and medical facilities several times.
Kimani used to speak openly about his illness and recovery. After spending around six months at the Mombasa rehabilitation centre, he was discharged in December 2024. He said that he had replaced his fondness for substance abuse with a love for God, and vowed to help others.
Kimani continued his treatment into 2025, but sadly he did not recover. He died by suicide at a rehabilitation centre in Mombasa. His family confirmed that he had taken his own life and left a note.
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