By Prudence Minayo
Billy Miya is a Kenyan radio presenter at Radio Maisha. He started his career in the Coastal region of Kenya and has worked hard to establish himself in the industry. In 2009, he won the best male presenter and coast region Nzumari award.
Carving out a niche in the industry is already hard enough, so doing so and being able to receive an award is an accomplishment on its own. Billy Miya has definitely managed to do both. Many know him as “the player” a character he had to create while starting out in the radio world.
Age
Billy Miya was born on 16th December 1985.
Education
The presenter went to Kaloleni Primary School before going to Tudor Day High School for one year. He then joined Our Lady of Mercy Ringa Boys in Homa Bay county where he completed his high school education.
After high school, he applied for a Diploma course in Mombasa polytechnic, currently Technical University of Mombasa. He did not receive his admission letter prompting his father to investigate the delay from the institution. He was told the letter was sent and the intake was overdue. The only available option was to take a certificate course, which he did.
Family
He is married to Khadija Khamis and they are blessed with three kids, two boys and a girl. Miya is a dedicated father and revealed in an interview with SDE how much life changed when he became a father.
“A lot has changed. When I got my first born son, there are many changes that I executed in my life, like cutting off friends and making sure whatever I do is for the good of my family.
This is to ensure I save enough for them, to ensure that even if I will not be around long enough they will still lead a good life….,” said Billy.
Billy is the first born in a family of four, two boys and two girls. The radio presenter was very protective of them and would beat anyone who dared mess with his siblings. He was brought up as a christian but converted to Islam after growing up.
Career
As a young child, he loved listening to Metro Radio and would even dub his favorite hits in his father’s cassette. This caused him to get into trouble several times.
The award winning presenter started as an intern at Pwani Radio where he got a job thereafter. At Pwani Radio, he hosted Tafrija la Pwani which was an evening show that spread beyond the borders of Mombasa. Later, he left the station to join Baraka FM after a fall out with the managers. At first, he was assigned to host Mziki Mzuka and later Mega Breakfast Show, which was very big in the region at the time.
The radio show host then got a chance to join Milele FM where he worked for a very short time before another station came calling. He moved to Radio Maisha and was partnered with MCA Tricky for the breakfast show. This was a source of great joy and he promised to bring fresh talent.
“ I am bringing fresh talent. A voice that has not been recycled on air. It has not happened anywhere else, and I intend to make sure I deliver content that anyone would want to listen to,” the presenter told Kenyans.co.ke.
