Day Catherine Kasavuli's Son Turned Down Offer To Be A News Anchor

Martin Kasavuli on Thursday, January 12 revealed that he was inches away from becoming exactly like his mother, the late veteran TV anchor, Catherine Kasavuli; working in the media industry as a news anchor.

Speaking while giving his tribute during the funeral service of the late Kasavuli at Friends Church in Nairobi, Martin began by recalling how Catherine kept pestering him to venture into the industry's broadcasting division.

However, Martin, who was born in 1981, expressed that he was too shy from being just like his mother who graced TV screens at a time Kenya was transitioning to a new era in the media space.

Even though he was his mother's protector, he got to understand that she was a famous name amongst Kenyans watching the television and listening to the radio, and not just an ordinary voice playing in the background.

Martin Kasavuli during Catherine Kasavuli's requiem mass at Friends Church, Ngong Road on Thursday, January 12, 2023. /CITIZEN TV

"One of the things that she always wanted me to do was to go into Television and Broadcasting...and I know this is her way of telling me 'utafanya chenye nitataka (you will do what I want)' because I'm in front of TV screens and there's all this kind of media which is one of the things I always shied away from and never wanted to do.

"My job was always to be Mum's bodyguard as I got older and I got to understand that Mummy is Catherine Kasavuli and before it was just a radio playing in the background and I would hear her voice and the maid would tell her that she was talking to you in the radio," he narrated.

Martin added that he preferred being a low-key person and appreciated it if his mother kept details of him away from the public, even though she was proud of him, but often collided with her when she felt otherwise.

"One of the fights I had with her was I told her don't put my name in the newspaper when you are being interviewed and don't put my picture," the Riara Primary school alumni revealed, adding that he had to ask her mother to get a picture from someone else in the event journalists sought his photo.

Despite her relentless calls to follow in her footsteps, the advertising professional stuck to his path.

"Recently when she got unwell and I had started a new job, I visited her in the hospital and she asked me what I was doing. I told her that I am in security and she was surprised that things are that bad that you are now a watchman." Martin revealed as mourners took to laughter.

"I said 'no mum, I am in virtual security and actually we are doing quite good things'."

The late veteran journalist who died at the age of 60 after a battle with cervical cancer once told The Standard how she used to carry her son to work as there was no househelp to take care of him.

"I warned him not to cough, belch, breath, sigh or break wind! He sat there at a corner in a tiny little chair and watched me read the news” she revealed in the interview.

Martin has nonetheless grown to be a multi-talented executive with over 18 years of experience and demonstrable experience across seven countries including emerging markets in Africa.

He graduated from Keele University in England in 2005 and worked on projects in Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone. He worked at Vodafone in 2004 as a retention specialist while studying at Keele until 2006, after which he returned to Kenya.

The following year, he worked at Radio Africa Group's The Star newspaper as an Agency Sales until 2008 when he transitioned into Kigali, Rwanda for a stint in Creative Communications Rwanda (CC) as the Head of Agency.

He returned to Radio Africa Group as the Head of Agency, Sales before being poached by the Nation Media Group (NMG) in 2011 as the Business Development Manager.

Martin also worked as the Managing Director of Ogilvy and Mather based in Tanzania before being transferred to Kenya as Oglivy's communications and new business director where he worked until 2015.

In 2018, he co-founded Spin Media Africa Limited where he also serves as its managing director and also co-founded Kasavuli Media Group in 2012 with his mother, Catherine.

After Kasavuli's death, Martin took over matters regarding the planning and execution of his mother's burial as well as her Ksh4 million hospital bill which was eventually cleared by President William Ruto.