Memoirs Of Alex Chamwada: The Rise And Rise Of Kenya’s Revered Journalist

Alex Chamwada is a household name in the communication and journalism industry in Kenya. The celebrated journalist of our time called it a day at Royal Media Services last week, after years in the industry where he has grown through thick and thin, to become one of the most revered and celebrated journalist of all time in Kenya and beyond.

The Moi University schooled journalist is one of the few who have widely traveled to bring the world closer to us, to make everything look like it happened within our localities, yet it all came from the farthest of places.

I vividly remember that Saturday afternoon when Chamwada paid us homage, us, the then Moi University undergraduate students. It was back in 2011, if my mind serves me right, when we gathered under a roof in one of the many complexes in the Eldoret-based institution of higher learning, purposely to listen to this man, Alex Chamwada, who had traveled to places in the world, to get not just a glimpse of him, but also to be inspired to aspire not to expire.

After waiting for a while, Alex finally came in. For those of us who were his ardent admirers we immediately spotted him and clapped. There were those who used to hear about him and took this opportunity to meet him. This type had to wait for a little longer before they knew him.

When Chamwada finally stood to speak, he looked so simple that you could not imagine that this is the guy we had been seen reporting from Washington during the US electioneering period.

Well, Chamwada had few but important words. As a Moi university student, he had resided in the hostel I resided then. That is not important though. Inspiration is what brought him here and indeed by the time he was winding up his speech, Alex had touched so many of us. We wanted to be great journalists, at least like him.

This and many more are some of the instances that make us want to talk about Chamwada every time we have a chance to. He may no longer be on our screens to not only inform us but also entertain and educate us, but Chamwada is here to stay.

He has actually plunged himself into independent content production and here, Ghafla Kenya gets hold of the moments that define Alex Chamwada.

You remember the 2008 US general elections? Well, that was not the first time Chamwada was in the US covering news. In the 2000 general elections, Chamwada, then as an intern with the Voice of America (VOA), got a chance to report the elections. This is perhaps where he got the experience and courage to go back in 2008, this time round as a Citizen TV reporter, to bring us up to date with what was happening in America.

Chamwada at the White House in 2008

Well, Alex started off his career as a reporter with KBC. He worked here for a while and left for Royal Media Services as a reporter. Those days, Radio Citizen was blossoming amid difficult situations, thanks to the sour relationship between Royal Media Services owner, S.K Macharia and the then incumbent president, Daniel Arap Moi.

Royal media faced tough moments leading to employees not getting their salaries. Alex Chamwada was a victim of this.

To cut the long story short, Alex in his website, Alex Chamwada, says that he had to leave Royal Media Services for KTN, despite Macharia sponsoring his internship in America. Despite Macharia not happy about Chamwada’s desire to leave, the reporter says that he had no option because he needed money, which was not forthcoming at RMS.

Chamwada further narrates how his fiancée, Caro, stood by him through thick and thin, supporting him when he completely had nothing, and ensuring that Chamwada managed to report to work despite lack of money.

He says that for instance, on his return from his three-month internship in the US, Chamwada found out that the house Royal Media had rented for him at Kileleshwa had been locked because Macharia could not pay rent.

Caro, who stayed with her brother and sister at Donholm, took him in and this is where their love even grew stronger. Ooh that a testimony for lovers.

After a while at KTN, Chamwada got a scholarship to study masters in the University of Liverpool in England. He took one year unpaid leave and when he came back, he rejoined Citizen TV where until his resignation, Chamwada was one of the most revered and respected journalists Kenya has ever produced.