By Prudence Minayo
Mary Kilobi is a Swahili news anchor and reporter who works with the Standard Media Group at KTN. She is a simple beautiful lady with an endearing smile and a flowery Swahili accent that flows effortlessly as well as an author. Mary is described by her co-workers as a kind lady who has not let fame and money get into her head.
Age
Mary Kilobi was born on 16th July 1984 in Bungoma, Western Kenya. The news anchor celebrated her birthday in style this year. It started with her husband Atwoli penning a sweet message to her.
“ Happy Birthday Maria, may our good Lord take care of you and give you more years to come for me, our family and friends who all love seeing you around me as you are an added advantage,” he posted on Facebook.
In the Birthday celebration video, a band is spotted serenading the her and the husband as they shower praises on them. Atwoli even gets up to dance to the music at some point.
Education
Mary attended Chwele Girls High School in Bungoma county. She then joined Makerere University in Uganda to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Kiswahili and Literature.
She went on to earn her master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Nairobi.
Career
Kilobi once worked as a data entry for the now defunct Mumias Sugar Company.
She began her journalism career at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) where she worked as an anchor, producer and editor for four years.
The Swahili news anchor then joined the Standard Media Group as a reporter for Kenya Television Network (KTN) where she works to date. Luckily, she has not been affected by the recent firing of journalists in various media houses.
Apart from being a journalist, she is a motivational speaker and an author of the book Jifunze Kiswahili which is sold in bookshops in Uganda and Congo.
Also Read: Francis Atwoli Imposing House In Kajiago
Marriage
The KTN reporter is married to the longest serving Cotu secretary and politician Francis Atwoli. Despite the age difference of about thirty years between them the two seem to be very much in love. When Atwoli first proposed to her, she turned him down as she told The Nairobian:
“ I love Atwoli, he is a caring man who is always there for me. Given another chance, I will still fall in love with him.”
She went on to tell the tabloid that she said no when the COTU secretary general proposed to her. According to the journalist, Atwoli said he would wait “for even 1000 years for me to say ‘yes’ and marry him.”
In the same interview Kilobi said “age should never be a key considering in a relationship. Atwoli is that guy who is never bothered about mundane issues that sometimes break up marriage.”
“ He told me he was lonely and needed a wife to live with in Kajiado. I challenged him to visit my parents and make his intentions known if he was serious. He readily responded by sending a delegation to the village about two months ago.”
The two met a long time ago as Kilobi revealed on YouTube.
“I met him iI 2005 when I was still working at UBC (Uganda Broadcasting Corporation) in Kampala. He came for an interview and as was the norm, Kenyans working at the station would be called to say Jambo to a visiting Kenyan,” she said.
“We remained in touch even when I came to Nairobi and joined KTN years later. Thereafter, we had a difficult period when I separated with my previous boyfriend in a relationship that I really regret and I think he also has challenges in his relationship at the time.”
Mary is the third wife of the trade unionist.
