Even Citizen TV anchor Jeff Koinange, with the respect he commands, gets upstaged at times and the attention drawn to other bigger personalities.
In December 2014, while hosting the St Mary's Anniversary Gala, the seasoned journalist had his speech interrupted by President Uhuru Kenyatta whose attendance was not assured.
Recounting the event while hosting the Hot 96 Breakfast with Jalang'o in 2017, Jeff stated that the school was holding it's 75th-anniversary celebrations and the head of state had not confirmed his attendance.
"The day of the gala, December 5, 2014, was the day the charges at ICC had been dropped. Everybody said that he wouldn't show up because he was busy that day. We made frantic calls but nothing was conclusive," he narrated.
Jeff continued that the event kicked off and he served as the emcee. He engaged with the audience as he poked fun at some who were bullied in school but had grown to become CEOs of banks.
He recalled that while delivering this presentation, the crowd erupted - the source of the disruption - the arrival of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
"As I was in the middle of my monologue, the crowd erupts. Uhuru had walked in. There was pandemonium for about 15 minutes as he made his way to the front greeting people with his cheerful personality," he conveyed.
He noted that the audience of close to 1000 people comprising of alumni from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and the Millenials eventually settled down.
Renowned singer Eric Wainaina, who is also an alumnus of the school, performing the song "Freedom is Coming Tomorrow" at the event.
After his performance, Jeff stated, "I take the mic and I said if I was Eric Wainaina, I'd have changed the lyrics to say 'Freedom is coming today' because the ICC charges had been dropped on that day."
He stated that the joke really impressed Uhuru adding, "The president was on the floor"
Here is a video of Jeff Koinange's narration:
