
Leah Eshitemi: the silent Missioner of Public Relations in Kenya
January 2025 marks exactly 10 years since we were given a challenge by the Hon Fred Matiang’i, who was the Cabinet Secretary for ICT and as was the practise, the patron of Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK). It was Leah Eshitemi who, ironically wasn’t sitting in the room that not only captured the vision but ran with it.
Let’s step back to October 2014. I had just taken over the leadership as Chair of PRSK from the indomitable Fellow Kentice Tikolo and the first agenda was to co- host with the Global Alliance for PR and Communication Management (GA), the World Conference for PR in Emerging Economies (WCPREE). To negotiate for our hosting rights, we had gone all the way to Madrid, Spain to the GA conference that year. We needed a tete a tete with the GA board who were still quite cagey about allowing us carry their brand. Leah was part of the Kenyan delegation led by the Principal Secretary (PS) Information at the time Mr. Joseph Tiampati.
Upon return to Kenya, we had to consolidate our position to meet some of the conditions laid out by the GA for a successful event. It wasn’t lost to us that we had already failed to make the cut for the more prestigious World Public Relations Forum (WCPREE) which was what we bid for and we didn’t dare lose what had been offered us.
Some time in mid January, 2015, our Patron, Hon Matiang’i hosted us in his executive boardroom on 10th Floor Teleposta Towers, Kenyatta Avenue. It was his turn to understand our roadmap so that he could assess our readiness for the global event and assist where necessary. It was due in November 2015.
We were two teams…a team from PRSK comprising both the elected incoming and the outgoing committees and the team from the Ministry of Information with whom we would be working. The team from the Ministry was led by the ever-spirited Ezekiel Mutua, who was the Information Secretary. From the PRSK side I was accompanied by Margaret Maranga who was then our head of Secretariat. She had for many years hosted us as one of the accounts under her wings at Corporate Reflections Company (CoRe). The late Leah Eshitemi was the PRSK account manager at CoRe. Other team members were Sylvia Mudasia, my Vice Chair, Grace Munjuri outgoing Vice Chair, Kentice Tikolo outgoing Chair.
After our presentations as PRSK, Matiang’i who had previously interacted with us, asked us a question. “Do you want me to tell you what I honestly think about PRSK?” In unison we all answered “Yes”.
The no nonsense man then declared: “PRSK is a big fat overgrown baby. You want to host a global event and you don’t even have an office? What are you doing in the office from which she (pointing at Margaret), conducts her private business?“
For that entire year, whenever I met my team, it was the conference and the move to establish our secretariat. We had many conversations around the sustainability of the society, professional growth and recognition. Where would be an appropriate place for our office location and how much could we afford to pay? We needed to strike a balance between image, accessibility and financing. It had to be a respectable enough space to host our patron who was a cabinet secretary and financially affordable. Leah in her quiet way gave tremendous input enabling us to see what resources we could build on and what we could do away with.
There had been a roadmap before, that after hosting this conference, the society would have amassed enough money to either pay rental space for two years or begin the process of acquiring some land on which to build. It became extremely urgent to hasten the steps to meet this milestone.
In November 2015, we successfully hosted the WCPREE. Our patron came as the Chief Guest, but true to his word did not invite the President of the Republic because by the time we gained his confidence in our ability to host the event, the Presidents’ diary was full. He had made it clear in the boardroom in January that he would not in any way be the first to embarrass the government he served.
February 2016: Time for the grand move from Corporate Reflections on Muchai Drive to Liaison House Annex, State House Avenue. It was a huge assignment that saw Leah both encourage us and then become our first employee.
Where we doubted our own abilities, she gave us hope, where we hesitated on account of a potential huge rental obligation she gave assurance, promising to whip up membership to ensure they paid up. Even when we had to create more revenue streams, more professional training programs, more strategic approaches to our own work, it is Leah that was at the heart of this.
I had daily meetings with her in our first quarter in our space. Part of it I think was drawn from sympathy. I felt sorry for this young lady who would be spending her day alone at her workplace. So, I passed by Liaison House most mornings on my way to work and arranged with my Vice Chair Sylvia Mudasia to visit in the evening whenever possible. That became our routine until we hired our second employee Maureen Koech.
Leah remained true to her word. Every January she was on her phone and email, reminding members of their obligations, thereafter she would be busy reminding them about the various training sessions planned. Indeed, since her demise, many members have said they expected her call on membership payment reminders on the day they received the news.

With the two councils that I led, Leah supported us through our most crucial first assignment of hosting the World Conference for PR in Emerging Economies (WCPREE), the move and establishment of our office at Liaison House Annex, and the creation of a regular training program to skill up our members as well as generate income for our society. We then embarked on a review of the PRSK Constitution, published the first documented 5-year strategic plan and managed stakeholder engagement in writing the first draft of the PR Communication and Management Bill in which we seek to establish PRSK as an institute anchored in law, besides the regular activities.
What the modern PRSK is, has largely been carved out by Leah who diligently implemented council plans and directives and in her own quiet way gained a lot of membership buy in.
One regret I have is that we have not documented a history of PRSK and by extension the development of the profession in Kenya and the region. Leah has gone with so much knowledge that is now irretrievable. In Leah, the mission of PRSK, to foster professional development and influence the Public Relations and Communication Management industry through policy and promoting ethical practices and standards, was constantly awake.
We will miss Leah, but we know we will find her when our time to follow her comes. Go in peace Leah.
Jane Gitau, Fellow PRSK
PRSK CHAIR 2014-2017 &
2017-2019