Story Of Former KTN Anchor Picked As Catherine Kasavuli's Replacement

Celebrated news anchor Fayyaz Qureishi has a huge task on his hands if he is to replicate, or better, the likeability that Kenyans endeared the late veteran Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) anchor, Catherine Kasavuli for.

On Saturday, January 28, Qureishi was unveiled as Kasavuli's replacement for the Legends Edition as a prime-time news anchor every Saturday at 9 pm.

It is worth it to note that he was among a star-studded lineup introduced to the news segment during KBC's rebranding in 2021.

Tom Mboya, Cynthia Nyamai, Shiksha Arora, John Kioria, Fred Indimuli, Juma Ballo, Harith Salim, and Nancy Onyancha all joined the station alongside him and Kasavuli.

What many might not know is that Qureishi began his media stint in 1990 as a news anchor for KTN where he interacted and co-anchored with Kasavuli who had come from KBC.

“When I joined KTN as a young man, I was introduced to Kasavuli who was welcoming and friendly,” Qureshi reminisced on being mentored by Kasavuli while mourning her.

Qureishi who boasts over 20 years of experience in journalism spent 15 years at KTN anchoring the news to become one of the most popular TV stars in the country.

He eventually quit the station in 2005 and moved to the United Kingdom (UK) where he worked for 10 years.

However, KTN poached him back from the UK and became a guest anchor in the then-newly launched KTN News.

In July 2021, he and Kasavuli would reunite after the former had created the Legends Edition at the national broadcaster.

Kasavuli would become the face of the news bulletin, with other veterans anchoring on certain occasions. Qureishi had to balance between the UK and Nairobi, Kenya where he was providing assistance for the Legends Edition.

Qureishi was also a host of the Kenyan version of the television game show franchise Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? that has been broadcast since the debut of the original British version of the show on September 4, 1998.

The show premiered on October 13, 2000, and had a top prize of Ksh5 million.

KBC Journalist Fayyaz Qureshi (left) with the founder of Lancet Group of Labs Dr. Ahmed Kalebi (right) on October 30, 2021. /TWITTER.AHMED KALEBI