Kanze Dena's rise through the media industry was not an easy one, as she narrated in December 2017, to Jeff Koinange and Jalang'o on Hot 96 FM.
Having landed an attachment at KBC, Dena indicated that she used to read the news on radio but had never been on TV until someone didn't show up for their shift one day.
"I was told to read the 4 p.m. news on their behalf that day on TV, and immediately after the bulletin, Hiram Mucheke, the editor-in-chief told me that I would continue reading the bulletin," she narrated.
Dena intimated that while she was relatively okay reading the 4 p.m. bulletin due to her knowledge of reading radio scripts, nothing had prepared her for prime time news.
"Apparently, it was not hard to report news at four in the evening. The challenge was when I was paired with Badi Muhsin for the 7 p.m news.
She narrated that when the cameras rolled during her prime time debut, Muhsin introduced himself as protocol dictated, but when it came to her turn, she was numbed with shock and could say nothing.
Muhsin read the bulletin as if nothing had happened, and when the story was running on screen, he turned to her in shock and genuine concern and asked her if everything was alright, and she told him that her voice was gone.
Dena intimated that Muhsin reassured and advised her on how to achieve composure while reading the news despite the anxiety over the perceptions of the thousands watching from home.
"Do not worry much about the people looking at you. In this room, there are only two people. Do you see anyone else here? It is only you, I and the cameraman. Look at the cameraman and tell him the story the way you are seeing it," he told her.
Kanze narrated that she caught up bit by bit on the day as the bulletin went on until the end of her first day reading the 7 p.m. news bulletin.
"By the time the bulletin was coming to an end, I was like 'oh, that is day one'. Day two will be better. He really helped me a lot," she confessed.
Kanze further intimated that not long after she had started broadcasting the evening news, KBC rebranded and she was made the face of KBC Taarifa, effectively becoming the main anchor.
Kanze stayed in KBC for close to five years before she left for Citizen TV in 2007, where she was paired with Lulu Hassan.
Kanze has since moved on from the media industry and is acting as the Statehouse spokesperson and head of the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU).
