Renowned Kenyan Media Personalities who Didn't Study Journalism

One of the most common beliefs is that for you to be good in a particular field, you must undertake training. 

However, that is not entirely true as some Kenyan media personalities are doing great on our screens and on radio, yet they did not study journalism.

In this article, we review top media personalities who are/who have dominated Kenyan airwaves, although they did not study journalism: 

Yvonne Okwara

She is arguably one of the best news anchors in the country at the moment. However, her area of study is not related to media.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Yvonne graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) with a BSc in Microbiology, Zoology, Botany, and Chemistry, in short, she is a scientist.

Despite not having a media background, she has worked in three of the countries leading media outlets namely; Nation Media Group (NTV), Standard (KTN), and Royal Media Services (Citizen TV).

In her over 13 years of experience in the media, she has hit several milestones, with one of the biggest being a moderator for the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

Ken Mijungu

The senior news anchor at KTN TV is a law graduate from Moi University.

In addition to KTN, Mijunga has worked in other top newsrooms that include, NTV, K24, and CCTV Africa.

He is arguably one of the best interviewers on matters law and politics owing to his legal background.

Gidi and Ghost

Gidi is widely known as a musician thanks to the mazing hits that he released alongside his music partner Maji Maji. As a duo, they released top songs that include; Unbwogable and Atoti among others.

However, Gidi is an alumni of JKUAT where he graduated with a BSc in Information Technology, and Strathmore University where he got an MBA.

He was introduced into the media space by renowned sports journalist Carol Radull who signed him up at Radio Jambo alongside Ghost Mulee.  

File image of Radio Jambo morning presenters Gidi and Ghost. [Photo: Courtesy]

Prior to joining the media, Gidi had worked with the United Nations.

On the other hand, Ghost is a household name in the country, owing to his role in the Kenyan football sector.

Ghost attended Ofafa Jericho and later went into football where he represented a number of local teams.

The climax of his career was when he was appointed Harambee Stars head coach. He was also introduced to the media space by Carol Radull.

Together with Gidi, they host the morning show on Radio Jambo and run a segment dubbed ‘Patanisho’ which is one of the most popular shows in the country.

Waihiga Mwaura

The Managing Editor in charge of Multimedia at citizen TV is a Computer Science graduate from Africa Nazarene University. 

Waihiga has been in the newsroom for a total of 14 years and has grown in rank from a sports anchor to a managing editor.

Over the same period, he has won several awards that include; CNN Multichoice award and BBC’s Komla Dumor Award

Daniel Githinji Mwangi (Mbusii)

After high school, Mbusii ventured into theatre where he acted set books at the Kenya National Theatre.

This helped him build a name for himself and to earn a spot at Crazy Kenyans show, but later left. He also featured on Churchill Raw as a co-host but also left after sometime.

Mbusii then landed a job at ghetto Radio where he served for quite sometime before making a switch to Radio Jambo where he is to date. 

His evening show is one of the most popular in the country, especially among the youth.

File image of popular radio presenter Mbusii. [Photo: Courtesy]

Other media personalities who are doing well in the country, but never studied journalism include; Kamende Goro, Paul Nabiswa, Bonoko, Fred Arocho, MCA Tricky, and Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchill among others.