•Ndile 57, died on Saturday night after struggling with Liver cirrhosis.
•The family confirmed that Ndile had passed on.
Image: PHILOMENA KILONZO
Former Kibwezi West MP Kalembe Ndile has died at the Nairobi Hospital.
Ndile 57, died on Sunday morning night after struggling with Liver cirrhosis.
His body is currently being transported to the Lee Funeral Home.
Kalembe Ndile's son Kioko, confirmed his father's death.
"My father was admitted at the hospital last week. He died this morning and we are at the same hospital now. We will give more details later," Kioko said on phone.
It has emerged that the former Tip Tip party leader had a phone conversation with some Machakos journalists last week informing them of his admission at the hospital and possibility of "resting".
"Kalembe called me last week and told me that he wasn't feeling well. He had been admitted at Nairobi Hospital, " Machakos Athiani FM reporter Regina Mutua said.
Champion Press Proprietor Cornelius Kembui said Ndile called him last Thursday at 3.00pm.
"He told me that the last function was good and appreciated the role of media in his life. Ndile told me that scribes have been supportive to him and he looked at positive side while ignoring their negative sides," Kembui said.
Mutua and Kembui were among the closest journalists to the deceased from Ukambani regiom region.
Ndile last Sunday called for a press briefing in Athi River, Machakos County where he called for unity among national leaders.
He said Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka should unite with his ODM counterpart Raila Odinga so that they form the next government after 2022 general elections.
Ndile was born in Western Uganda in 1964 from where he got the Kalembe nickname.
He said his famous name Kalembe was a nickname picked from the Kalembe mines.
"I was very young and always sickly. My other regularly took to me to the Kilembe Hospital and one of our neighbors decided to call me Kalembe due to the frequency of visits to that hospital," he said during an interview with Star in 2016.
He found the name appealing and adopted it.
His father had relocated in the early 1970’s to Uganda where he worked as a laborer during the construction f the Mbarara Ntugamo road.
Ndile started his primary education at Kamwenge Primary school in Western Uganda and prided himself on the ability to speak at least three local dialects; Kinyankore, Kikiga and Kirutoro.
In 2019, Ndile dismissed multiple death reports that surfaced online.
He told journalists that he was alive and well further condemning those responsible for spreading fake news.