Known for his welcoming speeches and heaping praises at presidents, Salim Mohammed worked for 23 years as a Presidential Press Service Broadcaster.
His career began in 1961, at the Kenya Broadcasting Service (KBS), the now Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), where he worked as a radio presenter.
After Kenya attained its independence, KBS was changed to the Voice of Kenya (VOK) where Salim continued working as a presenter.
In 1968 however, former president Jomo Kenyatta linked Salim to an opportunity at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) where he worked for three years.
“When we attained independence, there were a few journalists in Kenya. Jomo Kenyatta was advised to close all the local media houses in Kenya combining them into one station in Nairobi in 1964.
“In 1964 I worked in Nairobi until 1968 when Mzee Jomo gave permission for me to go and work at BBC,” Salim stated in a past interview with KBC.
After working at BBC for three years, Jomo Kenyatta recalled him to serve under his government in the Presidential Press Service (PPS).
“I came back in 1972 and worked for Jomo Kenyatta until his death. I was in charge of sports when I was in KBS now KBC,” he added.
After the death of Kenyatta, former president Daniel Arap Moi sympathised with Salim for staying at the same job group for many years promoting him to work as the Presidential Press Service broadcaster.
“I had been on the G job group for 16 years without a promotion. When Moi asked and I revealed that to him he was shocked," Stated Salim.
His roles included conveying Moi’s messages to the public and organising the national events, he detailed that he delegated duties and ensured that everything was in order days before the actual event.
“All the musicians, the students who performed and all the other forms of entertainment had to be in order and timing was very important.
"My duty was to ensure that during Moi Day a message of peace and unity was spread across the country,” Salim narrated.
Salim passed away on Wednesday, March 22, and was eulogised by his family including former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho.
“To the world, he was a legendary media personality with an illustrious career from leading broadcasting houses such as the BBC Radio, Voice of Kenya (VOK) among others,” Joho’s message read in part.
