How did Fridah Mwaka handle public transport while on TV?
Fridah Mwaka, now a respected NTV news anchor, recently shared her emotional journey of navigating Nairobi’s challenges while working in media. Back when she worked at Kenya Television Network (KTN), Mwaka didn’t have a car. Despite being a public figure on TV screens across the country, her daily commute depended entirely on matatus.
She often alighted at Bobmill Complex on Mombasa Road and walked to the Standard Media Group offices. Though she was a familiar face on the 7 pm news, not all her colleagues treated her kindly. “There are news presenters who never greeted me because I didn’t have a car. Imagine you are a news presenter. People watch you at 7 pm, and you are dazzling. I would meet my colleagues driving out of the office as I walked in. There is one I greeted, but they never responded. The person later told me that they felt I was not in their class,” she recalled.
What was her most painful commuting experience?
Among the moments that stayed with her was one particularly harsh afternoon. Scheduled to fill in for colleague Ali Manzu for the 4 pm bulletin, Fridah faced unexpected rain while trying to cross the road. A lorry passed by and splashed mud all over her green dress. Shaken and in tears, she was spotted by a Member of Parliament who recognized her and asked if it was indeed her he’d seen earlier.
“I was in a green dress. A certain honourable member passed and saw me and asked if I was the one he had seen at Bobmill. Then I said yes. At that moment, I was crying. I’m supposed to be in the studio, and I didn’t have an extra dress to change. The news time was almost,” she said. In that moment of despair, she turned to faith: “I cried and asked God to save me from such embarrassment.”
Why did Fridah Mwaka turn down a KSh 2.5 million car?
Perhaps the most surprising part of her story was when a Member of Parliament, also a personal friend, offered to buy her a car. He even took her to a showroom along Ngong Road and encouraged her to choose any vehicle she liked, up to a value of KSh 2.5 million. But Mwaka said no.
“I don’t know if that was stupidity, but I rejected it. I was scared and newly arrived in Nairobi,” she shared.
By Risper Akinyi