The journalist and editor Kaye Whiteman, who has died aged 78, possessed a remarkable knowledge of Africa, its peoples and those who governed them. He met most of the key African leaders from the period of decolonisation and independence, both English- and French-speaking, and was in touch with many of those involved in public service throughout the continent.
His area of particular expertise was west Africa, and above all Nigeria. He first went there and to nearby Ghana in 1964 as the deputy editor of the weekly West Africa magazine. He returned to Ghana the following year to cover the summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which he described in his article Ghana at 50 in Africa Today (March 2007) as "an African event of unrivalled spectacle, when all Africa came to pay tribute to the great pioneer of independence", a reference to Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president. Kaye also reported on the Nigerian civil war of 1967-70 for the Times, witnessing the surrender of the Biafran general Philip Effiong to General Yakubu Gowon.
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