Vincent Ateya is a name that is synonymous with radio. For years, he has established himself as one of the most bankable radio hosts in the country.
The revered media personality shared his journey to success on Citizen TV.
Here is his story as told by WoK.
Vincent Ateya Primary School
Born in Kakamega, the family moved to Nairobi when he was in Class Five. They settled in Mukuru slums and life was not as he had expected.
The impressionable Ateya had the illusion that Nairobi was the place to be. For a little over a year, he was not able to continue with his education.
He started spending a lot of time in church. This was until a Catholic priest who had noticed his absence from school asked what the problem was.
After explaining his predicament, the priest directed him to a school known as Mukuru Promotion Centre and inform them that he had sent him there.
He wanted to join Class 5 but the school was skeptical. He convinced the administration to allow him to join the class and telling them he did not perform well he would repeat.
Despite the one and a half-year long absence from school, he emerged position two.
The former radio presenter continued to excel, all while keeping his love for football alive. In his final year, he won the national public speaking competition and earned a trip to Italy. Upon his return, he joined Aquinas High School.
High School and coaching
While in high school, he started coaching football to the young children in his hood. He would spend his free time training them and this became a sort of rehabilitation even to those who would otherwise be inhaling glue.
After his O-levels, he worked at night and trained them during the day. One of the notable footballer who took part in the matches was McDonald Mariga.
High Education
Later, one of the Catholic nuns was invited for a talk at Capital FM and remembering Ateya, she looked for him. The talk’s theme centered around The African Child.
After the interview, he was asked what he wanted and he said broadcast journalism. This was how he found himself sponsored to study at Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.
Vincent Ateya Career
While in college, he worked at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation and later on moved to Family.
Afterwards, he was employed as a sports editor at Royal Media Services (RMS). He then started reading sports news on Citizen TV alongside his sports editing job.
With time and as the RMS grew, he moved to Radio Citizen where he hosted the drive show and grew to a top radio presenter in the country.
Vincent Ateya currently hosts Radio Citizen morning breakfast show dubbed ‘Jambo Kenya’. The celebrated radio host is also the head of a cluster of RMS owned radio stations broadcasting in Western Kenya. The stations include Sulwe FM, Mulembe FM and Vuuka FM.
In future, he hopes to have the chance of becoming a lecturer.
Drama
Ateya also became a mentor and coached a lot of people in the world of media. He also worked as a drama coach for different schools throughout the years including:
Alliance, Precious Blood, Huruma Girls and Mary Hill. He would write scripts for drama festivals and help learners discover their talent.
