By Duncan Mboyah
A
fter a one-week environmental reporting training at the British Council in Nairobi January – February 2007, courtesy of the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU), the trainees felt a need to form an association that could bring them together to help tackle issues pertaining to environment and science in the country.
This idea had been in the minds of many journalists, but it was rebuilt after the training by one British Journalist, the late John Vidal who at the time was an Environment Editor of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom.
Late John Vidal’s insistence that environment journalists ought to come together through an association to help them execute their work led to the formation of Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association (KENSJA).
The trainees sat down and embarked on the formation of KENSJA by first agreeing on a suitable name and doing a name search at the Registrar of Societies at the Attorney Generals Chambers.
This exercise went on well and upon approval by the security arms, KENSJA was duly registered in 2009. They straight away hit the road running with the aim of working on investigative stories on the enactment and implementation of appropriate environmental and developmental policies and laws, networking and exchanging information with like-minded organizations, fostering training of journalists, and to advocate for accurate, balanced, and development-friendly communication of science stories.
Before the training, many journalists belonged in ‘ad hoc formations’ that were formed for short lived courses but never an outfit that could bring them together to a place they can call home in matters of capacity building, mentorship and sharing of dockets.
It’s sad to note that John Vidal passed on in late October 2023 while being treated for cancer as we marked our 16th year. The late John Vidal deserved to be called a co–founder of KENSJA based on the energy that he applied to fire up his trainees into forming the formidable association.
In remembering the training, Mazera Ndurya who then worked at the Nation Media Group in Nairobi says that at the time, there was little information and interest from journalists and editors to write about this topic.
“No amount of words can express the immense impact John Vidal had on my journalistic journey as an environment reporter”
Mazera Ndurya
Ndurya observes that thanks to the late John Vidal, the perception changed with his insight and in-depth understanding of the journalistic terrain and the intricate web of multinational corporations that held the world at ransom by pumping in billions of dollars while adulterating the environment.
“Apart from the knowledge that the training imparted, there was a new awakening among science journalists, and this could be seen in the birth of KENSJA”
Mazera Ndurya
He notes that journalists are comforted in the rich legacy that the late John Vidal has left behind seeing reportage of science and environment taking a whole new level with every media outlet churning reports on climate change, conservation, and the blue space.
“Some of us got the opportunity to earn some real pounds from a joint article that we did on the trail of destruction caused by the lucrative flower business which was published in the Guardian prior to Valentine’s Day”
Mazera Ndurya
After the training John Vidal continued to mentor some of our members whom he met and worked with during the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Climate Change Committee of Parties (COPs) in various countries.
One such Journalist is Pamela Asigi, a founding member of KENSJA who a Managing Editor at the Citizen Television and a board member of KENSJA is currently.
“If passion was a human being, then the late John Vidal would have easily been passion. He loved environmental journalism, he was very passionate about anything that walked, smelt and talked about the environment”
Pamela Asigi
Asigi says that she remembers at the busy news centre and even the hallways in the 15th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark, everyone was talking about this chap who had stumbled on a document that would change the climate talks.
“Well, we were all eager to find out what it was, the late John Vidal had his day – a scoop on the leaked document and we all picked up from where he left the next day,” she adds.
Asigi observes that the late John Vidal mentored many through his writing that was full of flair.
John Vidal died aged 74 peacefully on Thursday October 12, 2023 in hospital, where he was being treated for cancer.
He reported on the environment for the Guardian for almost three decades and rose to the position of Environment Editor until retiring in 2017.
On behalf of the KENSJA family, we take this opportunity to convey our condolences to his family and friends who he touched during his tenure of duty.
Fare thee well John Vidal!!
Duncan Mboya is the chairman of KENSJA