Classic FM presenter Maina Kageni has given his colleague Felix Odiwuor alias Jalangâo one condition in exchange for his support in the 2022 General Elections.
Jalangâo who has announced his bid for the Langâata Constituency seat hosted Kageni on his YouTube show, where he encouraged him to vie.
The Maina and Kingâangâi host said that in order for him to finance Jalangâoâs campaign, he should vie as an independent candidate.
Kageni promised to play a similar role Oprah Winfrey played in the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.
âOprah pulled her strings and made sure he spoke at that democratic convention which moved people. She brought in people she knows to endorse him. His dream began with Oprah,â Maina said.
âI will give you money and I will be at your rallies because I am not at the beck and call of some party leader,â the presenter promised.
However, Kageni cautioned that joining politics was the fastest way to go broke, adding that the nature of Kenyan politics restricts freedom of thoughts and opinions.
Giving examples of Nyali MP Moha Jicho Pevu and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie, he warned that Jalangâo risked turning out like them.
âIf you go into Jubilee or ODM, your thinking must conform with the thinking of the people at the top. Anything outside that and youâre branded a rebel, so suddenly the Jalangâo we know getting into politics wonât be the Jalangâo we see.
âLook at Moha, we were hiring that fiery guy to go make noise in Parliament to advocate for change on certain things across parties for the good of the country then....Look at our friend KJ who I love more than life, but he had to conform because that is how politics in Kenya works which is so sad," the Classic FM presenter concluded.
If the Kiss 100 presenter succeeds in becoming the Langâata MP, he will join a list of media personalities who have joined Kenyan politics.
Media personalities in politics
Sabina Wanjiru Chege - She is the current Woman Representative for Murangâa County. She began her career as an actress and radio presenter at Coro before she moved to Kameme FM.
Naisula Lessuda - She started as a journalist working for the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) before she left and was later Nominated to represent Samburu County in the Senate. In 2017, she vied for the Samburu West parliamentary seat which she won.
Raphael Tuju - He is the current Secretary-General of the ruling Jubilee Party. He quit working as a journalist in 2002 when he was elected Member of Parliament for Rarieda Constituency, and went on to serve as Minister for Information and Communication, and later Minister for Tourism and wildlife before he was moved to Foreign Affairs in a reshuffle.
He currently serves as Cabinet Secretary without portfolio in President Uhuru Kenyattaâs government.
Gathoni wa Mucomba - She is the current Kiambu Woman Representative. She is serving her first term.
The legislator began her career as a journalist at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) before she moved to Inooro FM where she was a breakfast show host. She is also a media owner and the Managing Director of Kikuyu TV station Utugi TV.
Granton Samboja - He is the current Governor of Taita Taveta County. He is serving his first term. He started his career soon after graduating from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) after he was employed by the Royal Media Services and went on to help establish Radio Citizen.
He later left and launched his own radio station Milele FM before he sold it to Mediamax Limited.