Celebrated songbird and ex-radio presenter Sanaipei Tande is a household name in Kenya’s entertainment industry.
Known for her captivating voice behind the mic she would attend Loreto Convent Mombasa for her primary school education.
She also enrolled at Mama Ngina High School for her high school education before transferring to Agha Khan High School in Mombasa.
It was after relocating to Nairobi that she completed her high school studies at St Lucy Kiriri Girls.
Sanaa, as she is commonly referred to was admitted to the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) to pursue pharmacy.
However, she didn't complete her course as she opted to defer and pursue a career in music, which was her passion.
In her budding music career, it was her SEMA music group hit song Leta Wimbo that would hit the airwaves gaining her fame and leading to recognition by brands and corporates.
She revealed in a sit down with Gideon Ndambuki of Churchill Show that her breakthrough in the media industry began when she was featured by Capital FM in its magazine, Qz.
“Capital FM wanted to feature me in their new magazine called Qz. The late Chris Kirubi would spot me in the studio during the interview and ask me to see him,” she revealed.
Kirubi would later direct radio presenter Eve Ds’ouza to train her on the station's evening show dubbed Hits Not Homework.
“I worked for three months on probation but would not qualify because of my accent. I did not have The Capital’s accent,” she stated.
Sanaipei however revealed that her radio career was revived after a call from Shaffie Weru who worked at Kiss 100.
“Shaffie Weru would later call me and asked if I still wanted to do radio. I told him that I was interested, and he asked me to partner with him for the show Keeping it Kenyan at Radio Africa,” she disclosed.
Upon landing at Lions Place along Waiyaki Way, she would meet Caroline Mutoko then a presenter at Kiss 100 morning show who gave her the employment nod.
“I met Caroline Mutoko who revealed to me that she had taken a chance on me and that she was proven right and thus got me employed,” she stated.
Sanaipei joined Kiss 100 FM in 2007 to host the mid-morning show. She also hosted Keeping It Kenyan, a weekend segment that featured upcoming Kenyan music and artists.
Her time at Radio Africa would end in 2013 when she joined Easy FM (now known as Nation FM) as co-presenter of the drive show alongside Edward Kwach.
With changing dynamics in the media industry, she would be retrenched in 2015 alongside other radio presenters.
She begun hosting karaoke in different clubs and bar across Nairobi a venture that got her clashing with club owners over poor working environment.
Apart from radio and music, Sanaipei has starred in several local shows where she has played leading roles such as Kina and Aziza.
