Radio Jambo’s Mbusii Road To A Top Radio Presenter There’s something common about radio presenters in Kenya, a good number strives to acquire an American twang. It works for some and for some you can guess their ethnic background which they try so hard to conceal. Then there’s Daniel Githinji Mwangi or otherwise known to you as Mbusii, a radio presenter at radio Jambo. Funny, hilarious and well acquitted with the sheng language. It’s hard to keep up with the language as it changes every now and then but Mbusii who hails from Eastlands the land where sheng is rife, is an expert. He refers to himself as kapyenga which means small in stature. Mbusii prides himself in being a father of two beautiful daughters However, Mbusii has not always been on the limelight threatening to overthrow well known radio hosts. His journey hasn’t been all that rosy. Peter Ndoria spoke to Mbusii and below is an excerpt of that interview. What was his first job? He started off selling soup in the Korogocho area where he was born after finishing high school, to eke out a living. Most media personalities start off at Kenya National Theatre, was it different for Mbusii? He started at Kenya National Theatre where he landed roles in high school set-book plays, especially children roles, thanks to his physique. Then television roles started calling when the programme Crazy Kenyans. Mbusii, Radio Presenter Mbusii, Radio Presenter Things were not so rosy because he says he felt slighted. “Sometimes I would give ideas then am told they are not good enough but a 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 until 2008 when he met Robo- then a presenter at Ghetto Radio, who was looking for comedians at the National Theatre. The meeting between them was hilarious because Mbusii mistook Robo for a police officer because of his burly physique. Further, as if fate was experiencing a bout of humour on this young man who had fallen foul of the law, Robo made him try out traffic updates using a police officer’s tone and accent. Just like that, the young lad landed himself first radio job, giving traffic updates in a ‘police’ accent, as an inspector. Which challenges did he face at the beginning of his career? Six months into the job, the Office Manager pulled a shocker on him one morning. Priscah (the Office Manager) informed Mbusii that she felt that he did not have a voice for radio. He was unceremoniously demoted from budding presenter to office messenger in a move he describes painfully in analogy. “It was like being demoted from President to Chief”, he says adding that maybe they just retained him out of pity, as a messenger. 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, being literally sneaked in by producer Dee into the studio to do a few links with his ‘Inspector’ voice. There were changes in management which saw Priscah leave ushering in a new management of a new sheriff in town, Maji Maji of the ‘unbwogable’ fame who restored confidence in Mbusii, entrusting him with a three hour show. How would he describe his experience as a radio presenter? “Radio is fun,” Mbusii says his work requires discipline and focus. It is this focus that sees him report to work two hours before his show to plan his day and do his thing. He also credits radio with affording him the chance to interact with many people. Does he still reside in Korogocho where his childhood home? He has since moved, but not too far off from his childhood home and still keeps in touch. What you may not know about Mbusii. • His father was a mortuary attendant • When he started at Ghetto radio colleagues at work who felt threatened by his rising abilities would spray doom in the studio when he left. • A spot check revealed that out of ten public service vehicles, four of them are tuned to Goteana show in the afternoon. • He declined an offer to join Citizen Radio in 2012. • ”Hakuna mmbrrrcha” which means no worries originally came from mbusii. Goteana’, ‘kumba toto si toto’, keeps me and many others hooked to the channel. There is no doubt that this Rasta man is going places courtesy of his huge fan base. His punch lines like ‘hakuna mbrrrrrr cha’ are now being used by youths all over the country. They are actually the new slang in the ‘streets’
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 10:15:08 +0000
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