Obituary - Maggie Wainaina, calm anchor of the Nairobi bureau for four decades

Maggie Wainaina, a much-loved and respected  Administration Executive in the Reuters Nairobi bureau, died on January 4 after a recurrence of cancer. She was 72.

Maggie, who was born in Githumu, north of the capital, and spent four decades with Reuters, was the bureau’s backbone, said James Macharia Chege, General Manager Africa. 

Astute, selfless and blessed with a wry sense of humour, she was a calm, wise presence whose efficiency made the text, TV and pictures operation work smoothly.  For much of her career she also provided support to the business and commercial side of Reuters in East Africa.  

Maggie became a legendary fixed point for Africa hands during her long career. Her commitment, hard work, generosity and shrewd diplomatic skills provided much-needed stability for the East Africa team at times of frequent upheaval.  

She was the essence of discretion, but if you looked carefully, you could sometimes spot a faint disapproving look behind her eyes at the antics of a few of the many journalists and managers who passed through the bureau on her watch, said former Africa Editor Barry Moody. He said she was an unflappable rock of stability and quiet efficiency. 

Hired in 1985, her career spanned some of the most turbulent periods in regional politics and toughest episodes of Reuters own history, including the 1993 killing of three Reuters journalists and an AP photographer in Somalia. 

She managed logistics and administration as the TV, Pix and text teams travelled to cover top stories such as the Rwandan genocide and related turmoil in the Great Lakes, the rise of Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, the fall of Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia -- and 30 years later the Tigray war --and Kenya's sometimes bloody political upheavals. 

Colleagues remember how she calmly helped introduce generations of journalists to Reuters and the demands of life at a news wire. 

She was there to usher new hires through the daunting corridors of the Interior Ministry's Nyayo House, processing residency, accreditation and other complicated bureaucracy. 

She was the grown-up, making the whole operation tick, said Macharia.   

Maggie, who retired in 2021, is survived by her son Michael.  ■