Updated: 30 August 2021
He ranks among the top ten highest paid comedians in Kenya. Felix Odiwuor aka Jalang’o burst into the limelight when he-together with fellow comedian Captain Otoyo-played brothers in the popular Papa Shirandula sitcom aired on Citizen TV. The funny man exited the show and joined KISS FM where he worked under the legendary Caroline Mutoko. Jalang’o started from the bottom and has grown to become one of the most sought after emcee, radio host and a successful business man. So what is the net worth of the Jalang’0? We explore what the comedian owns, his salary and his businesses.
Radio host
His stint at KISS FM under the tutelage of retired radio queen Caroline Mutoko provided the comedian a platform to learn and thrive. Jalang’o easily gelled with Mutoko to make the morning show the most popular in Kenya at the time. The comedian then moved to Radio Maisha where he teamed up with Alex Mwakideu. In early 2017, the restless funny man called it quits at Radio Maisha to join Hot 96 FM where he co-hosts the morning show with the equally talented Jeff Koinange. According to SDE, the comedian salary is about kes1.1 million.
But his stay on the station was short lived as he was poached by Radio Africa Group after the unceremonious exit of Andrew Kibe from Kiss FM. The radio host has been paired with Kamene Goro.
Emcee
Jalang’o is an emcee par excellence and his services are in high demand. In an interview on the Daily Nation, the comedian said he at times has upto seven gigs in a week. He told the publication that he charges between kes50,000 to a million depending on the client. He so impressed Tanzanian singing sensation Diamond Platnumz that he was named the official Wasafi records emcee. In a good month, Jalas can make over kes2 million as an emcee.
Business
Actors are known to live a carefree life without planning for their retirement but not Jalas. The comedian runs Arena Media, a full service PR and marketing company. According to the company’s website, their client base is-but not limited-to the entertainment industry, sports, fashion & beauty, and corporate sectors. Arena Media does advertising, events management, marketing, corporate public relations and consultancy. His network has ensured his company gets lucrative deals with blue chip companies like Safaricom. Jalang’o, who has rubbished reports alluding he is a class 8 dropped, has been behind the successful Molo milk advert where he also stars.
Endorsements
Jalango Mwenyewe penned a two year endorsement deal with Hanan tissue brand. He has also been the brand ambassador of Molo Milk, Falcon rice and Safaricom. The comedian told SDE’s Rose Kwamboka that he is very careful on the brands he works with: “I have, in the past, turned down endorsement deals of brands that I feel do not have a future or are not reminiscent of my brand and what I stand for.” With just one endorsement deal, Jalas pockets a cool kes5 million.
Clearing the air on reports that he is involved in shoddy dealings, Jalang’o stated he is “….a brand ambassador to almost five top brands…a brand ambassador not influencer…for influencing I have a thousand and one… I’ll tell you easily there’s a time I drive in this town and I see a billboard literally every single place, those things pay.”
Properties owned by Jalang’o
For a man who starts his day at 3 am, it’s acceptable to spoil himself with top of the range rides. Jalas owns a Bentley whose market value is kes18 million, a kes20 million Range Rover Overfinch, a BMW X6 and a Land Rover Discovery. His collection of cars are estimated at over kes50 million.
Houses
The comedian has a home in his Siaya hometown. He said of the house: ““Simba is that first house you build in shags… The boys cave”……… “Shags… Simba. The small projects that just make you happy.’’ The house value is estimated at kes2 million.
In an interview on Aypo TV, the comedian said he owned several apartments and the house he lives in.
“I have apartments and the house I live in. The apartments are several and most are in the Airbnb business because it’s a big business nowadays in Nairobi,” he entrepreneur stated.
Jalas YouTube Channel
The presenter YouTube channel is one of the most followed in Kenya with a subscriber base of over 400,000 and millions of views. He managed to rake in over kes1.2 million in the first three months when the channel went live.
Net Worth
Jalas makes around kes2 million-kes3 million per month. His estimated worth is around kes100 million.
Scandals
The celebrated comedian was outed by blogger Edgar Obare for engaging in an ungodly acts with his friends. Jalang’o and his gang had formed a group christened the ‘boys club’ that shared women with the comedian leading the pack. He shared a statement on Instagram explaining what the group was all about and what Obare’s allegations had caused to his brand and marriages of his friends:
“The past two days have been very rough for me and my close friends because of the chats from our WhatsApp group.
“Yes, we agree that it was our group, and it is a group that has been there for so many years, and through the group, we have achieved a lot in developing ourselves in different fields; more so, investment, which was the sole reason for the group.
“The boys are not just friends but people we grew up with from childhood, went to school together and achieved a lot together.
“On the chats, you’ve seen, no one will tell you the genesis of the chats or the previous chats but they picked what they wanted you to see, we have been judged, abused and crucified and told that we formed a boys group just to have our pleasures.
“We will not defend ourselves but this was just another random boys’ chat in a WhatsApp group, the difference between us and you is that your chats haven’t leaked out, but I can assure you that in most WhatsApp groups, chats about men, women and money can never miss.
“People have blown this out of proportion, and I can assure you we are totally broken.
“People have called to encourage me and the boys, and others have called to just condemn us.
“We have taken this as a lesson. There is a lot of malice and hate around it, but we can’t go there now.
“What really happened? Or what is the truth? When COVID-19 happened (sic), most of my friends closed their offices, and I requested them to come help me build my YouTube channel. We took one of our apartments and turned it into a fully-fledged studio and that’s where we have been shooting.
“Occasionally, we go to where our guest is or hire a place to work depending on guest’s request. We are always done by 2 or 3pm. So, we sit back and just relax, have a boys time and chat. A few [more] friends have joined us too.
“We wanted to create one of the biggest online platforms and we already had clients buying space for marketing and advertising. We were already on a roll gaining up to 10, 000 subscribers per week!
“Rarely did anyone sleep at the apartment unless we had an overnight shoot or editing going on!
“The lies are too many that we, ourselves, are reading these things on the blogs, and [are] just wondering whom they are talking about.
“1. I have not been sent on any compulsory leave. My two-week annual leave began last week and I will be back on radio in two weeks’ time.
“2. There are videos doing the rounds on social media. I can assure you none of them (subjects in the videos) is us.
“3. That we created the group to share women amongst us. That is a lie. That day, we were having a random boys chat and that’s how the photos you see came up.
“It is very evident that the blogger has a lot against me. He started last year when he said we paid girls to come to our event, that story died when one of the girls dismissed him, he then, again, struck in December last year, when I questioned him, he blocked me and claimed that I wanted to kill him.
“He has since blocked me and continues to publish my stories all the time. My friends send me screenshots from his chats, he refers to me as that married man he doesn’t like…
“This year, he tried to write another story from Alex [Mwakideu’s] birthday party but since he had nothing to write, he let the story die. On my birthday he threatened to block anyone who posted me on their timeline, and now, even without asking our side [of the story], he has gone ahead and had a field day. He is happy because he gets what he wants, clout! Nothing else.
“What does it benefit you when you do all this? The damage you’ve caused us can never be repaired, Edgar, and I assure you that were it that I was a bad person, this would not have ended well, we will not sue or try to follow on anything, and we will just let this pass, but you’ve broken families, we have lost business and top clients who have pulled out on us.
“It is okay, and we understand them, no one would want to be around us now. We thank clients and friends who have stood by us by seeking to know the truth first. The truth will set us free someday. For now, all we have to do is try and put our heads up above this storm hoping it will soon pass.
“Moving forward, we have learnt a lot from this, we accept our mistakes and ask for forgiveness to anyone we offended, we ask for your prayers and guidance.
“Meanwhile, the show goes on!
“God bless you.”
Wash Wash Allegations
Edgar Obare was at it again, this time claiming that Jalang’o was in the ‘wash wash’ business that is associated with conmen, gold scammers and money launderers. The presenter came out gun blazing saying he had never stolen from anyone
Speaking on the KISS FM morning breakfast show, the presenter said he works hard for his money:
“For the past 10 to 15 years I’ve never seen what 7 oclock looks like unless I’m on holiday or its the weekend when I’m not working because I’ve always just known 4am as my wake up time and we come to Kiss and they pay us so well,” he defended himself.
He went on to say he that he does like three events which are well paying:
“To make it even crazier, per week I think I do like three to four events and club appearances and all which are paying very well.
“Jalang’o TV is a different hustle altogether racking up to almost 10 million views every single month and I literally put it out and say per week I must have four to five interviews,” he said.
Other interesting facts about Jalango
He did not drop out of class 8 as is widely believed
He scored a C+ in KCSE. He was a student at Nyangoma Boys Secondary School.
He good friends with Kazungu Matano alias Otoyo
The 36 year old comedian is married and the couple is blessed with a daughter.
He will run for the Langata parliamentary seat in 2022 Next
