𝐕𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢 𝐅𝐌 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐲𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐝𝐳𝐨 𝐙𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐮𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞

Veteran radio journalist and news anchor Gladys Kadzo Ziro, a familiar voice on Bahari FM, has died after a prolonged battle with lupus.

Ziro, who hailed from Kilifi County, was a presenter and news anchor at Bahari FM, a Royal Media Services station serving audiences in Kenya’s Coast region.

Her family confirmed her death, saying she had been battling the autoimmune disease for several years.

Ziro had stepped away from active broadcasting about two years before her death to concentrate on her health and treatment.

According to reports citing her family, her condition deteriorated shortly before her death, when she experienced severe vomiting and weakness.

Lupus is a long-term autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, causing inflammation that can affect different parts of the body.

Ziro built her broadcasting career at Bahari FM, where she became known for presenting news and current affairs to audiences across the Coast.

She was particularly recognised for using Swahili and local coastal languages, including Giriama, helping connect Mijikenda-speaking audiences with news and information.

Her work made her one of the recognisable voices in Coast broadcasting, with listeners becoming familiar with her delivery through the station’s news and other programmes.

Her death has been followed by tributes from journalists, former classmates, friends and public figures who remembered her contribution to broadcasting and her connection with coastal audiences.

Football commentator and fellow journalist Stephen Mukangai mourned Ziro, describing her death as a major loss to the media fraternity.

“You have gone too soon, Gladys. But then again, what is life? Like a flower, beautiful and delicate. One moment you are here with us, and the next, you are gone. The media fraternity has lost an icon, a voice, and a beautiful soul. Your absence will leave a void that will be difficult to fill,” Mukangai said.

Coast-based public figure George Kithi, who chairs the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund (SASDF) Board, also sent condolences to Ziro’s family, friends and loved ones.

He remembered her as a cherished Giriama news anchor.

Other mourners included Ziro’s former classmate and neighbour Charo Shem, as well as Mike Mumba and Sam Amany, who also paid tribute to the late broadcaster.

Ziro’s death marks the loss of a journalist whose voice became familiar to many listeners along the Kenyan Coast.

Through her work in radio, she played a role in bringing news and current affairs closer to audiences through languages they understood and identified with.