By Prudence Minayo
Njogu wa Njoroge is a renowned Kikuyu radio presenter. He has been in the industry for more than 15 years and has managed to develop a huge following. In 2011, he was voted as the number one vernacular radio presenter in a poll conducted by Synovate. Getting into the media was not an easy task for him as he was rejected on a number of occasions. He was not perturbed by the rejection but continued to press on.
Today, he is a popular figure, especially among those who can understand the Kikuyu language. In fact, most online sources claim that he is one of the highest paid radio presenters in the country.
This article mainly focuses on his career as he is a private man, hence, most personal details about his life are not available to the public.
Early life
He began his life in Njoro, Nakuru county. While in class three, he wished to become a reporter, and specifically a sports presenter. After completing high school, it took him 10 years to get a job. In each of these years, he attended interviews to join Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) but was never accepted.
In all these years, he never gave up on his dreams until finally lady luck paid him a visit.
Career
One day, he came to Nairobi to try and fill a position in Kenya Broadcasting Corporation that was previously held by Bernard Otieno who had at the time moved to Citizen TV. He didn’t even know there was a vacant position until he got to the gates of KBC and found posters advertising for the post which was to assist John Nyongesa as a sports commentator. At first, the guards did not even want to let him in so he could attend the interview but he got some help and was allowed in. 200 people showed up for the interview but only four were taken as trainees and Njogu was one of them and that was how he got into TV.
Later in 2001 Daniel Ndambuki ‘Churchill’ who was a radio sports commentator gave him the idea to go to Kameme FM and introduce a sports program. He took it and was accepted at Kameme FM where he went to work every Monday and Friday.
2002 was an election period and the management asked him to assist the morning host in interviewing politicians.
In 2003 he started to host the morning show ‘Arahuka,’ a job he would do for years to come. Through the program, he has been able to help many listeners and also tell the problems citizens go through. He has formed a sort of family that raises money to those who are in need. One notable day was when they were able to raise kes8 million in one morning to help fund a Mediamax colleague as he recalled on K24 Alfajiri. Through the show, he has also interviewed a number of popular Kenyan personalities among them president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto which he considered to be an honor.
Despite working in KameMe FM for a long time, he has left the station on a number of occasions but always finds his way back.
In 2006, he left Kameme FM for Inooro FM where he hosted a breakfast show called Hagaria alongside Waithira Muithirania.
In 2010, Mediamax which owns Kameme FM went under the ownership of the Kenyatta family and Njogu went back to the station.
In 2016, he said he would be leaving the station during the K24 Alfajiri interview and said he had mentored others to take over. He further added that he would like to broaden his audience so that he can reach even those who do not understand Gikuyu. The same year he held a Thanksgiving service to celebrate 15 years in the media at Kasarani stadium. The media personality was able to raise Sh2 million to help special needs children in Njoro, Nakuru.
In 2019, he once again made a comeback to Mediamax owned station Kameme but this time on TV. He continued to do what he had been doing on radio.
Marriage
The celebrity radio presenter reportedly formalized his second marriage with singer Mary Lincoln.
Salary
In an article published by Tuko two years ago, Njogu’s salary was said to be Ksh1.8 million per month.
A quote from the article:
“ According to various reliable sources, it is clear that his monthly salary is about Ksh 1.8 million. When it comes to his rides, Njogu wa Njoroge is the proud owner of a Land Cruiser VX 200 which is estimated to be worth around 8 million.”
The information may have changed as this was two years ago when he had left Kameme for Radio Africa owned station Gukena.
Joining Kayu FM 91.0
The presenter has had a troubled year after he was fired by Mediamax. According to the presenter, he had been kicked out of the station because of his political lining.
“I received a phone call from the Programs Controller, who asked me not to report to work, permanently. It is because of my affiliations, nothing else. I would have resigned to go and concentrate on politics,” he stated.
Njoroge political adventure ended prematurely when he lost the UDA Njoro parliamentary seat to Charity Kathambi.
This seems to have changed after the elated radio presenter shared a post of revealing that he had joined Kayu FM.
The post read:
“Thank you my people. I will forever be grateful to God and to all of you. He is a God of another chance. I promise you a balanced, issue-based morning show. I love you all. Thanks, Rose Kimotho and the entire KAYÛ FM 91.0 fraternity for the warm reception,” his post read.
