In summary
- Kimani Mbugua began his media career when he was only 19 years old, and was by then a student at Moi University.
- However, what was seen as a promising career was torn down by a struggle with marijuana and mental Illnesses that saw him admitted at various facilities.
- Mbugua has no intentions of making a comeback to the media. Instead, he is contemplating studying psychology and writing a book.
Kimani Mbugua, the man who cracked viewers’ ribs by taking to the streets and asking random questions through his segment ‘broken news‘ may never grace the screens again. However, what left more questions than answers was how the 26-year-old journalist abruptly went missing in action at a time when his media career was undoubtedly at its peak.
It is now in the public domain that Kimani was battling an addiction to marijuana which consequently led to an acute pychotic episode that left him admitted at various hospitals. Through an interview with a local media house, he detailed that his first time getting a euphoric high after smoking weed was in 2020.
“It wasn’t the same, I started seeing things differently, I started feeling this connection to another world,” he told Tuko.
However, what began as a single puff would later on lead to an addiction as it slowly and gradually destroyed his career. Kimani began losing connection with the reality as he ended up battling hallucinations, delusions, impaired judgement and got disoriented.
Losing Connection With The Reality
Due to this struggle, Kimani was also faced with a difficult relationship. He was so much used to smoking that he would do it immediately after work. At one point, he went viral on the blogosphere after he alleged that the SDA denomination was a cult.
“I was born and raised in SDA and now I know it is not a church. SDA is a cult,” he said in a video which he recorded himself while in a car.
As the matter led to a public uproar especially with Adventist faithfuls, Kimani was forced to apologize.
Mental Hospital Admission
The former Nation FM journalist got admitted at Avenue Hospital mental health unit for treatment. He had gotten loose of himself and was deep into hallucinations and delusions of grandeur (false and exaggerated belief of one’s greatness).
“I did not even realise I needed help. Things that make sense to other people do not make sense to you, and things that do not make sense to other people start making sense to you,” he told the Standard.
Kimani was also admitted at Mathari Mental Hospital; first for 9 days before a relapse aggravated by smoking weed necessitated another admission which saw him at the facility for 6 weeks.
As he was battling psychosis, Kimani had his adoring father who always supported him. Additionally, he is grateful for the Citizen TV newsroom for keeping the matter under tight wraps. The journalist is currently penning a philosophy book even as he contemplates studying psychology.
The 26 year old has decided to give the media a wide berth as the career no longer fascinates him.
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Kimani Mbugua Brief Biography and Education
According to his LinkedIn profile, he studied at Karura SDA where he sat his KCSE exams in 2012 and scored an A-. He then joined Moi University to study Communication and Journalism. Kimani struggled financially during the first year because he wasn’t yet 18 and couldn’t apply for HELB loan.
However, through the Nation Media Group (NMG) graduate programme, he landed himself a lucrative job at Nation FM as an entertainment producer. His stay at NMG lasted 3 years before he got employed at Hot 96 then later on at Citizen TV.
He had dispelled rumors that he was fired from Citizen TV, instead setting records straight that he resigned. Kimani also hosted a YouTube segment for Kenyans.co.ke.
