List Of TV47 & Radio 47 Presenters Poached From Rival Media Houses
Many believe that with so many marquee signings by the media house, Cape Media could be aiming to dethrone established players
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For the past few weeks, both TV47 and Radio 47 under Cape Media Limited have been on a relentless poaching spree, bringing in news anchors and presenters who established themselves in rival media houses.
With the recruitment of high-wattage journalists from some of the most established names on TV and Radio, Cape Media's moves have been keenly watched by Kenyans on social media, who have attributed the hiring of new talents to big money moves, especially in football.
Think of Premier League club Chelsea signing players almost every two weeks into their team, or Saudi Arabia's Saudi Pro League welcoming an array of names that become the first thing that comes onto any fan's mind from Cristiano Ronaldo to Karim Benzema, Ng'olo Kante, Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly, Neymar among others.
Many believe that with so many marquee signings by the media house, Cape Media could be aiming to dethrone established players such as the Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Group and even the Royal Media Services (RMS).
TV47 studios in Nairobi. /FILE
Viral Tea takes a look at some of TV47 and Radio 47's headline signings:
Alex Mwakideu
The latest big-name addition to Kenya's youngest radio station joined from Milele FM and will team up with Emmanuel Mwashumbe on Monday, August 28 from 6 am to 10 am, hosting the ‘Breakfast 47’ show at the station which only launched in March this year.
"Radio presenter Alex Mwakideu is set to join Cape Media-owned Swahili radio station Radio47 this coming Monday, August 28," Cape Media stated during his announcement.
The announcement came after Mwakideu defaulted on his announcement on social media that he was leaving Milele FM after five years.
At Milele FM, the radio journalist was hosting the morning show alongside Jacquey Nyaminde alias Wilbroda. He boasts of over 23 years in the media industry, having bagged his first job as a news presenter for Mombasa-based radio station Baraka FM in 2000, where he worked for 10 years.
Willis Raburu
The former Citizen TV presenter is arguably TV47's biggest signing so far.
Raburu announced his debut on Tuesday, August 22 on the Prof. Simon Gicharu-owned TV station through a video montage he shared on his social media platforms, just two months since his exit from Citizen TV under the Royal Media Services (RMS) where he spent the last 13 years.
At his new home, his first away from Citizen TV, he began hosting a new show dubbed 'Wabebe Xperience' on Friday, August 25 and will host the show every Friday at 10 pm, a show that is expected to compete with the likes of Citizen TV's 10 over 10 and NTV's The Trend in terms of Friday night shows.
Raburu is known for captivating audiences wherever he goes and whenever he appears and his presence is set to shore up TV47's numbers across the country.
Fred Arocho
The celebrated sports presenter joined Radio 47 on Wednesday, March 29 after leaving Radio Africa Group station Radio Jambo.
"Fred Arocho karibu nyumbani! (Welcome home) Radio 47. Hapa Ndipo," football commentator and sports editor Hassan Mwana Ali commented on Arocho's Facebook post whereby he announced his exit from Radio Jambo.
Speaking to digital creators at the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) on Monday, April 3, Arocho explained that his departure from Radio Jambo was motivated by the need for growth and new challenges, adding that staying in one place for too long leads to redundancy.
He praised Radio Jambo for giving him 14 years to grow himself as a sports personality, but it was the hefty package that drew him to Radio 47, which he could not resist.
Despite not revealing the exact details of the new package, Arocho hinted at the newcomer paying him above half a million shillings, putting it between Ksh500,000 and Ksh1 million, an increase from his previous earnings at Radio Jambo and something he attributed to his hard work and dedication.
Grace Kuria
The experienced broadcast journalist with over six years in the media industry joined TV47 at the same time the station relaunched on Tuesday, July 18.
Viral Tea was the first media house to report that she was headed to the station from BBC where she had spent the last year.
Kuria possesses great knowledge in reporting for TV and Digital media, Presenting/Anchoring, Producing and Editing. The move marked a comeback to national television screens for her, having joined BBC on September 23, 2021, just three days after she announced her departure from China Global Television Network (CGTN).
At BBC, she was a presenter for The She Word, a show dealing with stories connecting today's African women. She currently presents the weekend 9 p.m. news at TV47.
Fred Indimuli
Indimuli previously served as a news anchor at KTN News, where he hosted programs such as Inside Politics and delivered prime-time news. He joined the station in September 2021, replacing Ben Kitili (who is now at Nation Media Group) shortly after his departure from the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
Fred Indimuli and Ahmed Bahajj alongside Zubeida Koome outside TV47 studios on June 23, 2023. /COURTESY
Indimuli was notably part of KBC's rebrand in June 2021 which included the recruitment of new vibrant anchors in a bid to return to its glory days as the state broadcaster. Other journalists who joined KBC around June 2021 included Cynthia Nyamai, Fayaz Kureish, Shiksha Arora, Ahmed Juma Bhalo, and Tom Mboya.
At KBC, Indimuli, a graduate of the University of Nairobi (UoN), co-hosted Easy Friday with Shiksha and added the spell to his 17 years of media experience which included stints at Citizen TV, K24, and Indika Media.
At TV47, he hosts the Morning Cafe breakfast show every weekday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. alongside Stanely Nyaringita and...
Flora Limukii
You might have not noticed it but Limukii worked as a business reporter at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) on an internship basis in 2019 before she was poached by Switch Media (formerly Switch TV) as a political reporter and producer in 2021.
TV47 poached Limukii in August 2022, during the same month of intense media coverage of the August 9 general elections and has risen to be one of the biggest TV personalities in the Kenyan Generation Z category.
The 24-year-old also worked as a content writer for Opera News in 2020 and a content creator at TUKO.co.ke on a contract basis in 2019 where she began her media career.
Gibendi Ramenya
Recruiting Ramenya into Cape Media as its Head of Digital Innovations was the media house's first attempt to venture into the digital media space in the country and served as an early warning sign for things to come.
"Ramenya will spearhead the Group's Digital Transformation and Product Innovations in line with changing audience preferences. Reporting to the CEO, he will champion the use of digital technology and practices in newsroom operations and journalism," revealed Cape Media in a statement on Tuesday, May 2.
Gibendi Ramenya working on his laptop. /BUSINESS TODAY
Additionally, Ramenya took up the role of Managing Editor Digital. He is in charge of quality control and growing the audience for the media house's online assets.
He was the former TUKO Media Managing Director (MD) and has 10 years of media experience, eight of those being in online media.
Other additions
Other stellar recruitments included George Maringa and Ahmed Bahajj from KTN News, Victor Muyakane, Mwanaisha Chidzuga, Billy Miya and Dr Ofweneke.
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