Maina Kageni throws his weight behind Jalang'o's bid to become Lang'ata MP in 2022

Jalang’o who has announced his bid for the Lang’ata Constituency seat hosted Kageni on his YouTube show, where he encouraged him to vie.

The Maina and King’ang’i host said that in order for him to finance Jalang’o’s 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.

“Oprah 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,” Maina said.

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“I will give you money and I will be at your rallies because I am not at the beck and call of some party leader,” 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 Jalang’o risked turning out like them.

“If you go into Jubilee or ODM, your thinking must conform with the thinking of the people at the top. Anything outside that and you’re branded a rebel, so suddenly the Jalang’o we know getting into politics won’t be the Jalang’o we see.

“Look 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 Lang’ata 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 Murang’a 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 Kenyatta’s 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.