Celebrated Swahili radio presenter Alex Mwakideu has reached a remarkable milestone: two decades in the dynamic world of radio broadcasting.

“It feels good, it feels amazing, two decades is not a joke. 20 years of broadcast business is not a joke, so it feels really good to celebrate today and to see my people around here it feels really amazing.” Mwakideu said.

Known for his eloquence, humor, and ability to connect with diverse audiences, Mwakideu has solidified his place as one of Kenya’s most beloved voices on air.

Currently hosting the morning show alongside Emmanuel Mwashumbe at Radio 47 under Cape Media, Mwakideu’s career trajectory is a testament to passion and perseverance.

From his humble beginnings to commanding airwaves at some of the country’s leading stations, including Baraka FM, Radio Maisha and Milele FM, he has continually adapted to the evolving media landscape while staying true to his craft.

Reflecting on his journey, Mwakideu higlights on how he found his way into radio.

How did you find yourself in radio?

“I have always been active since I was a young boy, I was in drama and I did acrobatics as well.

After I performed on KBC as an acrobat, that’s when I realized people like such things, so that motivated me to join Angaza drama club where we performed before great people.” Mwakideu said.

“At that time Baraka FM was looking for a commercial script writer, so we went there, wrote the script, did the shoot and the client got so impressed with our work. So from there anytime Baraka FM had a client, they would call us to do the work. They retained us with a salary of ksh.5000 per month.” He added.

How did you know you had a voice for radio?

” Peter Musembi who was a news editor at Baraka FM, kept telling me I had a good voice for news. So he asked me to start practicing.

I was startled because I had not gone to school to train as a journalist, but he told me to start with the Taifa Leo newspaper and to listen more to the swahili reporters.

Musembi being the news editor at that time and the fact that he had seen potential in me, I din’t take that lightly, so I held onto it and did thorough practice both day and night.” Mwakideu stated.

When was your first time to go live on air?

“An opportunity came when there was a news anchor who had attended the opening of the show ground Mombasa by President Moi, so the anchor got stuck in traffic.

That was when I was told, this is your opportunity, it’s 1 p.m bulletin die with it.

I panicked, went to the washroom, said a prayer, came back and went through the news script. Time came, I went live and read the news.

Everyone including the station manager were outside listening, so when I came out of the studio they started clapping and celebrating me saying I did well.

I later went into the manager’s office and he told me they want me to start reading news, and that’s how I found myself as a news anchor at Baraka FM. ” Mwakideu remarked.

“did a few shows while at Baraka FM among them being The Drive Show, Zama nami weekend show,alongside co-hosts like Dennis Okari, Masawe Japani among others.

When they saw potential in me, they took me to training in Germany.” He added.

Radio Maisha

“A lot of people applied for jobs here, among them being Emmanuel Mwashumbe, my current boss Geoffrey Mung’ou among others.

We went for the interview four times, did it, made it through and that’s how we started working.

We did a very good job that we emerged number one. I worked with people like Jalas, Esther Ingolo, Otos, Mshamba, Nick Odhiambo among others.

Eight years later we said let’s leave because what else can you do? Your show is doing well, you’re number one, you’ve done everything.

So I just left for better experience otherwise you might see your work doing well, become too comfortable and relax.” Mwakideu stated.

Why did you leave Milele Fm?

According to Mwakideu, he purposely left the station to venture into other things.

“I worked at Milele for 5 years where I later resigned. When I resigned at Milele Fm to be honest I had decided to just go home and do my own things.

It din’t even take two weeks, I started receiving phone calls from radio 47.” He said.

Why Radio 47?

“Radio 47 was the best because most of my people were there. I started work with most of them. People like Geoffrey Mung’ou whom we were working with at Radio Maisha, Mwashumbe we were together even in an interview so these are people I’ve know for a while so it’s easier.” He said.

“Radio 47 is my final, from here I’m not going anywhere else. I’m good here, I’m comfortable and if at all it will get to apoint where Radio 47 tells me enough is enough then that will be it or if I get to a point and tell Radio 47 it’s enough then that will be it but otherwise I’m okay here.” Ĥe added.

What makes radio 47 Outstanding?

Alex Mwakideu credits the station’s outstanding team and management for its success.

Speaking about his decision to join, Mwakideu likened it to football, saying;

“A player like Ronaldo can be so good, but without a good team, he won’t shine.”

Mwakideu emphasized his desire to avoid trial and error in his career, expressing confidence that Radio 47 is where he will finish strong.

“I want to retire when I’m doing well. I chose Radio 47 because I know this is where I will end well, with my game still on top,” he stated.