Wycliffe Orandi, a news anchor at Citizen TV, has recalled a moment in his career when his former employer, K24 TV, terminated his contract during his off-day.
Speaking during an interview held on Tuesday, Orandi said that he was caught off guard by the management's decision to let him go in October 2015, at a time when he was one of the station's prime-time news anchors.
In particular, he was driving along Yaya Centre, Nairobi, when he received a call from the Human Resource manager informing him to report to the office for a briefing.
Unsure of the meeting, the journalist headed to the station located along Kijabe Street, Nairobi, and found other colleagues who had also been summoned.
"I was called into the meeting and informed by HR that my position was declared redundant," he told Citizen TV.
Orandi, who had worked at the company for three years, learnt that it was undergoing a shift in its structure at the time, which required a streamlined workforce.
He stayed at home for two months contemplating his next move before his friend shared a vacancy for a radio host at Royal Media Services (RMS).
"I applied immediately and got the call for an interview. Fortunately, I was selected for the role," he said.
Orandi worked at Hot 96 as a radio talk show host for three years before transitioning to TV. He recalled how the opportunity came about, indicating that it happened by chance.
"I did a screen test and took it to (former Citizen TV Editorial Director) Joe Ageyo, who was busy at the time. I decided to take it to (Citizen TV's Managing Editor) Pamela Asigi, who informed me to do another test. She later called me the following day to do the 4:00 pm news. That's how it all started," he revealed.
He noted that his passion for media began at a young age as he would record himself reading newspapers aloud in front of his uncle.
Further, while attending church on Sundays, he would often read the projector as a teleprompter. Orandi said he envisions transitioning into prime-time news at RMS, following in the footsteps of his role models such as former Citizen TV news anchor and current State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed.
Orandi has amassed over 17 years in media, with his career starting at Hope FM in 2006 after graduating from Daystar University with a Bachelor's degree in electronic media and communication.
In 2009, he joined Nation Media Group's Easy FM (Nation FM) and worked for three years before leaving the station for K24 TV.
