Friday, April 24,
2026 - Veteran journalist, Jeff Koinange, recently shared a deeply personal
account of his early life in the debut segment of his podcast series, I Am.
Jeff, born on January 7, 1966, was the youngest of four
children.
“I’m the fourth born in a family of 4 kids. Exactly 2 months after
I was born, on 7 March 1966, my father passed away.”
“He had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital, he had a
brain haemorrhage and he died that night,” Jeff recalled.
His father, Frederick Mbiyu Koinange, was buried only 48
hours later - an unusually swift timeline influenced by his close friendship
with President Jomo Kenyatta, who wanted to attend the funeral but had limited
availability.
“My dad died on a Monday. He was buried on a Wednesday,”
Jeff explained.
Jeff disclosed that his mother couldn’t be there physically
by the grave side as her husband was being laid to rest because she remained in
the family’s Volkswagen Beetle, breastfeeding her two‑month‑old son [Jeff].
“My mother could only attend that funeral by sitting in a car
suckling me… she couldn’t even attend physically the burial of her husband,”
Jeff said.
Despite the crushing loss, his mother raised four children
alone in Kiambaa village, determined to secure their education.
Her sacrifice paved Jeff’s path to global stages at CNN and
ABC News.
Recently, the family marked 60 years since Frederick’s passing by visiting his grave.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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