A former journalist at the Nation Media Group has shocked many Kenyans after videos surfaced revealing that Nasibo Kabale now lives on the streets.
Once praised for her reporting on education and health, including a significant COVID-19 coverage in 2020, her current situation has drawn concern from many.
In the videos seen by The Kenya Times, Nasibo appears raggedly dressed, barefoot, and with unkempt hair.
Despite receiving a Presidential Award in 2020, the emotional toll from her reporting led to her diagnosis of depression and eventual resignation from her job.
How Nasibo Kabale Started Living in Streets
Nasibo recounted the traumatic experiences of covering the pandemic, which included witnessing a rising death toll that deeply affected her.
The former NTV Journalist said she was hospitalized at Chiromo Hospital for mental health issues and prescribed anti-depressants, but her condition did not improve.
“In 2020, I was given a Presidential Award, so when they fired people, I was among the five people who remained at Nation. So that job started disturbing me, seeing people dying during COVID-19. I was diagnosed with depression,” she said.
“There was a time in the office I felt like dying and was taken to Chiromo Hospital, and that’s when they started giving me anti-depressants.”
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She would later resign as a health reporter at Nation Media Group after feeling that her situation was not improving.
Nasibo Speaks About Life on Streets
She shared her struggles and described the dangers of her environment adding that she uses a knife to protect herself against any potential threats while sleeping inside her ramshackle.
“Here you must sleep with a knife beside you because anyone can come at night and attack you.”
Now living on the streets, she engages in street recycling and collecting trash for people to survive. Nasibo describes life on the streets as very difficult as she is mistreated by man who shelters her.
“It’s very hard living on the streets. The man I’m staying with treats me however he wants because he believes I have nothing. He provides everything, so he feels entitled to treat me poorly. If I had an option, I would have left, ” Nasibo said.
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Ex- Journalist Pleads for Help
The mother of one is seeking assistance to get off the streets and support her child, who is currently living with her baby daddy.
“Actually, he just saw her on the streets. He was covering stories; he is a famous person. They have bonded, and my baby is in Grade Two. She eats well, she goes to school,” she said.
“But I feel bad that I am not there, she is missing out on a mother’s love. It hurts me the most. He (baby daddy) thought it was a disease I had put on myself.”
In response to her plight, a group of Kenyans has formed a WhatsApp group to raise funds to help Nasibo enter rehabilitation and regain stability.
Kabale is a graduate of Kenya Methodist University, where she studied communication and media.
She began her media career at Standard Media Group in 2017 before moving to Nation Media Group.
The journalist reported on many big health stories, including the shortage of blood in our blood banks and the expiry of drugs worth billions of shillings in Kemsa warehouses.
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