Radio Jambo’s Mbusii Journey From A Street Hustler To To Presenter

There’s something common about radio presenters in Kenya, a good number str to acquire an American twang. It works some and for some you can guess their background which they try so hard to conceal. Then there’s Daniel Githinji Mwangi or otherwise known to you as Mbusii, a ra presenter at radio Jambo. Funny, hilario and well acquitted with the sheng langu It’s hard to keep up with the language changes every now and then but Mbusii hails from Eastlands the land where she rife, is an expert. He refers to himself a kapyenga which means small in stature. prides himself in being a father of two beautiful daughters However, Mbusii has not always been o limelight threatening to overthrow well k radio hosts. His journey hasn’t been all rosy. Peter Ndoria spoke to Mbusii and below is excerpt of that interview. What was his first job? He started off selling soup in the Korog area where he was born after finishing school, to eke out a living. Most media personalities start off at Ke National Theatre, was it different for M He started at Kenya National Theatre w he landed roles in high school set-book especially children roles, thanks to his physique. Then television roles started when the programme Crazy Kenyans. Things were not so rosy because he sa felt slighted. “Sometimes I would give id then am told they are not good enough few days later, I find my idea has been replicated by someone else”, he laments. When did he get his big break? His hard-knock state of life continued u 2008 when he met Robo- then a presen Ghetto Radio, who was looking for com at the National Theatre. The meeting between them was hilarious because Mb mistook Robo for a police officer becaus his burly physique. Further, as if fate was experiencing a b humour on this young man who had fall foul of the law, Robo made him try out updates using a police officer’s tone an accent. Just like that, the young lad landed him first radio job, giving traffic updates in ‘police’ accent, as an inspector. Which challenges did he face at the beg of his career? Six months into the job, the Office Man pulled a shocker on him one morning. Pr (the Office Manager) informed Mbusii th felt that he did not have a voice for ra was unceremoniously demoted from bud presenter to office messenger in a mov describes painfully in analogy. “It was like being demoted from Preside Chief”, he says adding that maybe they retained him out of pity, as a messenge How much was he earning at the time? For 2 and half years he used to earn 3,000 How did he get back to presenting? From December 2008 to June last year, Mbusii the messenger hang in there, bei literally sneaked in by producer Dee into studio to do a few links with his ‘Inspect voice. There were changes in management whi saw Priscah leave ushering in a new management of a new sheriff in town, Maji of the ‘unbwogable’ fame who rest confidence in Mbusii, entrusting him with three hour show. How would he describe his experience a radio presenter? “Radio is fun,” Mbusii says his work req discipline and focus. It is this focus that him report to work two hours before his to plan his day and do his thing. He als credits radio with affording him the cha interact with many people. Does he still reside in Korogocho where childhood home? He has since moved, but not too far off his childhood home and still keeps in tou What you may not know about Mbusii. • His father was a mortuary attendan • When he started at Ghetto radio colleagues at work who felt threatened rising abilities would spray doom in the s when he left. • A spot check revealed that out of t public service vehicles, four of them are tuned to Goteana show in the afternoo • He declined an offer to join Citizen in 2012. • ”Hakuna mmbrrrcha” which means n worries originally came from mbusii. Goteana’, ‘kumba toto si toto’, keeps m many others hooked to the channel. Th no doubt that this Rasta man is going pl courtesy of his huge fan base. His punc like ‘hakuna mbrrrrrr cha’ are now being by youths all over the country. They ar actually the new slang in the ‘streets