In the ever evolving media industry, presenters need to carve out their niche and work hard at delivering and relating with fans. If not, they fade into insignificance. Jeridah Andayi has delivered this content for the last two decades. She has remained in the same radio station and worked her way up to the top.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
Family
The radio queen is a mother of four but she lost one child about 10 years ago. She now has a son and two daughters.
The radio citizen presenter lost her mother in 2001 and her father in 2015. Her father, a renowned hardware owner, was 70 years old when he met his death.
He never went to school but did menial jobs, like tea picking and working in factories till he got into sales. To date, her later father is a source of inspiration to the presenter.
Background and Education
Jeridah grew up in the village. She went to Chakol High School, Busia – Western Kenya. This exposed her to the world of art as she joined the drama club and she learned to express herself. She also got into into trouble a lot but she describes those days as some of the best in her life.
Growing up, her greatest desire was leaving the village. Her father encouraged Jeridah to work hard and go to university if indeed she wanted to leave the village.
Media career
As a kid, she always wanted to be the voice of the people, speak on behalf of others. Law was and still is her first love. KBC’s segment back then called “The burden of proof” was her favorite program.
Leonard Mambo Mbotela was a friend of her dad. He contacted Leonard and told him about his daughter who was interested in the media industry. They met and Leonard mentored her.
The Radio Citizen boss started at KBC before joining Royal Media Services. The multi-talented presenter has been hosting the morning show “Jambo” alongside comedian Mwala. She has worked hard at Radio Citizen for so long and finally, she got a promotion.
Following the departure of Radio Citizen’s ex boss Joyce Gaturo, who left together with the comedian popularly known as Wilbroda and Francis Luchivya, Andayi was appointed head of the station.
Speaking on her new job, she acknowledged it was not a mean task and asked God for guidance:
“Thank you my brother for the cake. This is God’s doing. Heading is no mean feat. I ask God to go ahead, my all time woman crush, all the best. You’ve set the pace. Much love,” she posted on Instagram.
Support for Jackie Maribe
When Jackie Maribe and Joe Irungu were suspects for Monica Kimani’s murder, she came out to defend Jackie against the vicious attacks from Kenyans.
Jeridah Andayi informed people that being media personalities does not mean they are not humans. People should stop judging Jackie Maribe just because she is a public figure.
After all, if she wasn’t well known, no one would have bothered. This goes to show how supportive she is to her colleagues and friends.