Journalism, a high-stress profession, is silently holding hostage various practitioners who prefer not to share their experience and end up under the grip of depression.
A video has emerged on social media, showing an award winning journalist who has ended up with bare feet on streets of Nairobi, Kenya triggering a high level debate on social media.
Nasibo Kabale, a mother of one rose to fame while working at Kenya’s largest media powerhouses, Nation Media and at Standard Group.
She is remembered for conducting wide coverage of Covid-19 pandemic which had brought the world to a standstill and Kenya suffering greatly.
Nasibo witnessed first hand the rising death toll and devastation across East Africa’s coastal nation. The persistent rise in deaths and people struggling with the disease emotionally affected her.
According to her, the trauma from her work, coupled with the pressures of the job, became overwhelming, leading to a severe mental health crisis.
Her reporting on Covid-19 pandemic earned Nasibo Kabale a Presidential Award in 2020.
In the Video, Nasibo in a stuck contrast of her former self explains that she left her job because of trauma and depression which has forced her to live on the streets.
Nasibo has joined hundreds of other Kenya’s that have found comfort on the street due to different circumstances, “I left Nation Media because of depression, and later at Standard Group, I quit because of a meagre pay.”
“Here you must sleep with a knife beside you because anyone can come at night and attack you,” she said, explaining how dangerous street life is.
Nasibo explains that before she took to the streets, she had sought medical attention but it never helped. She was prescribed anti-depressants but her condition worsened.
Nasibo is currently separated from her young daughter, who now lives with her father.
Many Kenyans and a wide section of the social media community are concerned by Nasibo’s condition and are calling for more awareness and support for those facing similar challenges.
The videos circulating on social media have triggered widespread concern, shedding light on the mental health struggles that often go unnoticed, especially within high-pressure professions like journalism.
Nasibo’s situation highlights the lack of mental health support in Kenya and the challenges many in the media industry silently endure.
More concerning is the dire state of the media industry in the East African community bloc, where journalists and staff often endure months without pay, pushing many into depression.
In the video, Nasibo says, her candle of hope is still burning, “I can still read and write, and if given a chance, I would do my job to the best of my ability,” she said.
Kabale’s sudden fall from a respected media figure to homelessness has left many Kenyans both shocked and heartbroken.
