He’s Just Ken

Originally from Mombasa on the beautiful Kenyan coast, Ken Mambo began his career at a seaside resort before moving to bustling Nairobi to work for an airline catering company at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. After learning how to produce an astonishing 5,000 meals per day, he then took his skills to the prestigious Hillcrest International School to oversee their catering needs before relocating to Nelspruit, South Africa. There he taught vital skills development, training and implementation to hardworking safari lodge teams in the iconic Greater Kruger National Park.

He next made another adventurous move to Burundi, to run a resort on Lake Tanganyika before landing in scenic Uganda at Buhoma Lodge, where guests trek to find the gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. For a short time thereafter he found himself in the vibrant city of Kampala overseeing an office space portfolio before heading back to Kenya’s striking Turkana region to manage an oil exploration camp — and now calls Angama home. Suffice to say, he understands how to run a seamless and tight ship, how to look after guests, and is the perfect person to lead Angama Mara. 

For our American readers, you might be familiar with Marcel Proust’s questionnaires made famous in recent history by James Lipton on Inside the Actor’s Studio and in Grayson Carter’s Vanity Fair. I thought it would be an interesting way to get to know Ken better, and his answers clearly reinforce that he’s ended up in the right place.

Favourite word: Honesty (one of Angama’s core values)
What turns you on creatively, emotionally, or spiritually: The outdoors
What turns you off: Closed spaces
Sound or noise you love: Birds tweeting
Sound or noise you hate: Metal crashing
Another profession you would attempt: A cook. I love food — international and local, I like to be creative in the kitchen (his favourite ingredient is garlic)
A profession you would not: Plumbing
If you could live anywhere, where would it be: Any forest (but Bwindi, if he had to choose, unsurprisingly)
Biggest fault: Ice cream (coffee, to be exact; lucky for him Kina makes a mean one)
Real life hero: My mother. She was a resilient lady, took things by the horn, and despite her education made sure all 5 of us went to school
Favourite musician: Rema (a Ugandan artist, you can find her on Spotify)
Favourite flower: Lavender (Kina also makes a fab lavender ice cream — it must be fate)
Favourite bird: African Parrot
Qualities you most admire in people: Integrity, honesty, bravery
Your most marked characteristic: Surprising; people tend to have one impression of me but when they get to know me, I’m quite different.
Happiness is: Tranquillity and calm
Natural gift would you most like to have: Courage, or more of it
What’s your motto: To do good and help someone else get better