As the campaigns for the 2022 General Elections kicked off, a number of media personalities ditched their career for politics.
Some like Jalang'o were lucky to win and are now serving in various positions while a number of them failed and resorted to other tasks.
Kenyans.co.ke sought out those who unsuccessfully tried their hand in politics to find out where they currently are:
Tony Kwalanda
Tony Kwalanda, a former host at Switch TV, conceded defeat after failing to win the Manda Shivanga Member of County Assembly (MCA) seat.
Being a sports journalist, after his political journey came to a halt, he resorted to exclusively golfing which had also been part of his hobbies.
At Switch Tv, Kwalanda hosted a sports show, Sports Centre, that aired before the 9 pm news and featured sports pundits and guests either in the studio or contributing live on Skype.
Sports Centre was similar to that of his past daytime sports commentary, Sports Hub, which aired on K24 TV.
He worked at K24 for a period of 11 years before he was affected by the retrenchment that saw hundreds of employees declared jobless.
They were fired via a text message that was sent to the employees by the human resources manager Maureen Wandera based on a redundancy notice issued to Mediamax employees on May 21, 2020.
Paul Nasibwa
The former KTN News editor Paul Nabiswa was vying for the Likuyani parliamentary seat but failed.
He recently promised to give his way forward in his political journey.
“I can see you are all asking about my political future. Good things are worth waiting for. I will give you the right direction very soon. You will all clap for me,” he announced.
During his working period at KTN, Standard Media Group, Nasibwa served as the Head of Swahili. He worked also previously worked as a broadcast journalist at British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC), Citizen TV, and Nation Media Group at Q FM.
He is also an alumnus of the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication(KIMC).
When quitting journalism for politics, he observed that some politicians who previously went into politics after serving in the media did exemplary work.
"Journalism is not just like any other career, but anyone can become a politician," he stated.
Mwanaisha Chidzuga
Chidzuga lost the Matuga Constituency parliamentary race having come up against a host of contestants including her older brother, Hassan Chidzuga.
She however made claims of vote rigging following the announcement of the results.
The former KBC news anchor has been supporting her husband Senator Danson Mungatana in serving Tana River County people.
In November 2015, she joined Mediamax Network Limited’s K24 TV, three months after leaving KTN.
She began her journalistic journey at Pwani FM where she worked as a radio presenter. Chidzuga later moved to Idhaa ya Kiswahili – a Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) station.
These made it through her first jobs through training in presentation and production from professionals like Khadija Ali, Leonard Mambo Mbotela, Zainab Azizi and Elizabeth Obege. After KBC she joined KTN before landing a nother role at British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Jahmby Koikai
The former NTV presenter has been hosting live events, especially reggae-themed events.
She worked on several shows and gained fame while hosting reggae shows in the pioneer urban radio Metro FM before she moved to Q FM, which was under the Nation Media Group.
She was a regular guest and a host at the popular NTV show The Trend before she left the country to seek treatment in the United States of America.
Koikai lost Dagoretti South parliamentary seat where she was running as an independent candidate. Conceding defeat, she stated that she would continue working for Dagoretti people.
"To the people of Dagoretti South and all my supporters, we have fought the good fight, we finished the race, and we kept the faith.
"Although I will not be able to fulfill your hopes, I will continue my commitment to the betterment of the people of Dagoretti South,” read part of her message.
MC Jessy
Jasper Muthomi, famously known as MC Jessy conceded defeat too even before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission |(IEBC) announced the final results.
He failed in the South Imenti parliamentary seat where he was vying as an independent candidate.
“I sincerely thank you so much for the time we have interacted during our campaign time. It has been a great journey. A journey of amazing political adventure. A journey of daring hearts,” part of his message read.
Jessy made it clear that despite not securing a political seat in 2022, he would still fight for the creative industry to be elevated to the levels it deserves.
“The opportunity we have to work with President William Ruto – we are pushing for the creation of the Creative Economy Council of Kenya," he noted.
The former Churchill Show host on NTV went back to hosting live comedy shows after the elections.
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country, Jessy launched his own show, Jessy Junction, which aired through his Youtube channel.
Bonnie Musambi
Musambi is now running his own radio station, Sang'u, which metamorphosed into a fully-fledged live on-location station.
"Currently, Sang'u FM is available on location, Mobile App, and its websites where its programmes are well outlined," Musambi explained.
After election results were announced, the former Kenya Broadcasting Corporation(KBC) journalist claimed that he had been rigged out of the Kitui Central MP race.
"My political journey begins officially! Despite open and daylight massive rigging in Kitui County including Kitui Central constituency, I emerged as a strong number two out of 7.
I choose not to dispute Member of National Assembly results. I, therefore, take this opportunity to congratulate the MP-elect Makali Mulu. Do your third term but serve all our people equally,” he noted.
Musambi had worked at KBC for 14 years and had indicated that he would dedicate his time to growing Sang'u FM.
He joined KBC in 2007 as a radio host and had been a TV news anchor for Kiswahili bulletins and commentator since November 2009. He is popularly known for his unique style of ending his bulletins.
Bonnie also used to be a debate moderator for the popular BBC Sema Kenya show and has been a gospel artiste and comedian.
Other journalists declared their political interests but later withdrew. These include Alex Mwakideu who confirmed his interest in the seat after he posted a photo of himself on his Twitter page with the caption “Wundayi MP 2022”.
He however did not run for the seat. He still works at Milele FM.
Former Citizen TV presenter, Jacque Maribe had also shared her interest though she never vied.
In an Instagram interview, entertainer Andrew Siro asked Maribe if she would contest for a seat in Murang'a County with a focus on the Kiharu parliamentary seat or Murang'a Woman Representative post.
In response, Maribe stated; "It is an opportunity. Given the opportunity why not? I have not ruled it out but what I am saying is I have not officially declared it."
She later launched her own show “The Jacque Maribe Show” that aired on her Youtube channel.
Those who won the election are; Davidson Nguibuini alias DNG clinched the Member of County Assembly seat in Woodley.
Felix Odiwor, alias Jalang’o, won in Lang’ata Member of Parliament. Former Aljazeera and KTN journalist Mohamed Adow was elected as Wajir South MP.
