Anthony Ndiema is an award winning man of the fourth estate who works for the Standard Media Group as a radio presenter and TV host. For a media personality who was brought up in a Christian background, Ndiema has specialized in gospel shows and hosts ‘Safari na Ndiema’ which is aired on Radio Maisha on weekdays from 4 a.m to 6 a.m. On Sundays, he hosts ‘Shangwe na Ndiema’ from 6 a.m to 10 a.m.
Though Ndiema always braves the world flashing a smile, he has had to hung through nasty times, and at one time survived a near death attack by a mob in Kawangware, Nairobi.
Why Ndiema is a walking miracle
Ndiema stands so tall in his spiritual walk that it is impossible not to be inspired by his faith. On 28th August, 2008 Ndiema had withdrawn money from an ATM booth in Nairobi and boarded a matatu to Kawangware. It was a normal evening for him, but little did he know that he was being gangstalked by a group of men determined to cart away with his money and valuables.
“I alighted from a matatu and heard someone shouting ‘mwizi! mwizi! Then the guy pointed at me and in a flash he comes, steps on me then he is joined by others,” recounted Ndiema in an interview with TV siren Betty Kyallo.
“My prayer was that they wouldn’t bring a tyre (to burn me) but it was brought. Things happened fast and after a few minutes they scattered. To date I wonder how that happened.”
“After a short while, I realized I had been stabbed three times; twice on the side (lower abdomen) and once on the back. The back stab went straight to my spine,” he recalls.
The assailants stole his phone and money, leaving only the wallet. As he lied down pleading for help from passers-by, a majority of the people ignored him; after all this was Nairobi with dreadful tales on how street robbers laid such traps on unsuspecting people.
At 7 p.m when darkness had engulfed the scene, two people, a Sudanese man and a Ugandan lady approached Ndiema and realized he was in dire need of emergency treatment. They tried to help him stand on his feet but he couldn’t. It seemed the back stab had permanently paralysed him.
Through some contacts on his wallet, the two good samaritans were able to contact one of Ndiema’s friend as he was rushed to Mbagathi hospital before being referred to Nairobi Hospital for specialized treatment.
According to one neurosurgeon who reviewed an MRI scan, Ndiema had suffered a terrible spinal injury that would leave him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
On his part, after receiving the terrible news, Ndiema comforted himself with prayer. Then one morning, something interesting happened…
“I was very peaceful at some point and one morning around 11.12 a.m I tried twitching my toes and they actually moved. I rang the emergency bell, and the nurse came and I told her my toes were moving,” recounts Ndiema.
The neurosurgeon was notified and Ndiema was booked for physiotherapy sessions which took him off the wheelchair.
How Ndiema’s first born began speaking after four years
After walking down the aisle, Ndiema was blessed with a first born whom he named Joshua. His son was born through an emergency caesarian operation following detachment of the placenta from the uterus, a condition medically referred to as placental abruption.
Unlike his friends, Joshua suffered delayed development milestones and was unable to utter a word by the age of 4. The matter weighed down on the young family as they went to numerous specialists and spend days in hospitals’ corridors. Joshua was diagnosed with high spectrum autism and the family was told to begin learning sign language.
The family still remained upbeat that their son would one day open his mouth and speak, in fact Ndiema prayed that their adoring son would grow to become an orator. As the family sought treatment, they prayed hard for a miracle and went for special supplications at St. Julian’s in Limuru. According to Ndiema, after 3 weeks, Joshua began speaking.
“One Saturday morning, he stormed into the bedroom and said 7 words. I was overwhelmed, that story made my faith go to the next level,” Ndiema revealed in past interview.
ANTHONY NDIEMA BIOGRAPHY
Age, tribe and background
He is 40 years old by the time of this publication (2021). Ndiema was brought up in Kitale, Trans-Nzoia County. He is a Kalenjin from Sabaot sub-tribe.
Education
He studied at Friends School Kamusinga, an academic and co-curricular giant in Bungoma county. Ndiema then pursued a Bachelor’s of Education degree at Kenyatta University.
He holds a Master’s of Arts in Communication from Daystar University.
Family
Ndiema is a second born in a family of 8. He is married to Chepng’eno Kilel, a banker whom he met through a mutual friend and he loved her at first sight. The couple exchanged vows in 2010 and is blessed with 4 children.
Ndiema’s entrance into the media industry was by luck. When studying education at Kenyatta University, he once organised a careers fair and realized the media section had very few interested students and decided to join those in this category.
Through that, he met officials of Baraka Radio based in Mombasa. Afterwards, he sought employment at the station and he was granted the opportunity. He then joined Radio Maisha around 2011 during its maiden days.
