Meet Kelvin Kalama a Kenyan aspiring journalist, Mcee, social media influencer and a hype man. Having an unmatched interest in media and news reporting at a very young age, his journey started while he was in primary school where he’d report news in front of the entire school during assemblies all through his life till when he was in highschool. The young journalist has been using social media platforms to showcase his talent, leaving his fans in awe of his greatness.
In an interview we had with him, he disclosed of how much he was inspired by the current MP Nyali Consistency Mohammed Ali who was then a journalist popularly known for ‘Jicho Pevu’ and always dreamt of meeting up with him one day.
“Since when I was in class six, Mohammed Ali was my role model. I used to do videos reporting news and tagging him everywhere but he was not responding.” Said Kalama.
Eventually, seven years later his dream has been fulfilled. He gets to tell us all about it through an exclusive interview with this writer Vallary Muthoni.
TELLS US WHO YOU ARE?
My name is Kelvin Kalama, 20 years old, pursuing Journalism at Multimedia University of Kenya.
TAKE US THROUGH THE JOURNEY AS AN ASPIRING JOURNALIST, WHERE DID THE INTEREST BEGIN?
I started my journey when I was in class three. It’s when I discovered that I wanted to be a journalist. I used to report news during assemblies while in primary school as well as highschool. I received full support from my teachers and fellow students hence giving me more energy to press on.
YOU’RE ACTIVELY REFERRED TO AS CHIBU MTOTO, HOW DID THAT COME TO BE?
Chibu Mtoto is my brand name in the entertainment industry. I’m not only a News reporter but also an Emcee, social media influencer and also a hype man. Chibu Mtoto was given to me when I was in high school because people said I resembled Diamond Platnumz of which I don’t know (laughs) if it’s true. I just accepted it since it was giving me a good platform in the entertainment industry.
YOU HAVE BEEN TO VARIOUS RADIOS AND TV STATION, TAKE US THROUGH THAT JOURNEY, THE CHALLENGES, LESSONS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND YOUR EXPERIENCE?
When I joined multimedia university to pursue journalism, I was very aggressive about my career and my goals. So I decided to be a bit different. I used to spend most of my time in the studio. Doing reports and also hosting shows in the school radio station. After few months I decided to go for an Audition in one of the radio stations where I secured my first job when I was in my first year. I’ve been to 3 radio stations and 1 TV station. For me that was an achievement since I got to learn a lot of things. Challenges are always meant to be there not only in media stations. The only challenge I experienced was multitasking because at that time I was still in school. So far so good the experience has been awesome
WE GOT TO SEE YOU RECENTLY WITH HONOURABLE MOHAMMED ALI WHO HAS BEEN YOUR ROLEMODEL, TAKE US THROUGH THIS?
Since when I was in class six, Mohamed Ali was my role model. At that time he was still a journalist. So I also wanted to be an investigative journalist so he was the perfect person I had to look up to. I used to do videos reporting news and tagging him everywhere but he was not responding. I told myself that maybe he could be busy but one day, I’ll meet him. I continued to text him on all social media platforms without giving up. I went to high school and continued with the same trend .Id record myself in uniform reporting news and tag him everywhere. That’ was 2016 when I was in form one. So I did that for all the 4 years I was in high school. I was the best news reporter in high school and I received multiple awards from the school. My goal and dream was to one day Meet Mohamed Ali Jichopevu who by then became the Member of Parliament for Nyali. I told myself that I’m going to be the next investigative journalist and my dream of meeting Mohamed Ali will one day come to pass. After 7 years, my dream was fulfilled since on 4/8/23, I did a video wishing him a happy birthday and Hon Mohamed Ali took to his social media platforms that he wanted to meet me since he had been seeing my videos since I was in high school. On 8/8/23 I went to his office and it was a dream come true after 7 years of looking for him. I marked this date as a very important day in my life because I had been looking for such a chance for 7 years. Hon. Mohamed Ali Jichopevu promised to pay my university fees and provide support and mentorship so that I can reach my dreams. All Thanks to Hon. Mohamed Ali, my family and I will forever be grateful. You have brought hope in my life. Be blessed once again
WHICH ARE THE MEDIA HOUSES YOU’VE BEEN TO IN YOUR JOURNEY TO FIND YOUR SPACE IN MEDIA INDUSTRY?
I’ve been to MMU radio, zonk radio, bodaboda radio and also look up tv. All this happened when I was still in school.
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF KELVIN KALAMA ONWARDS?
Only God knows the future but I believe that I’m going to be the next big investigative journalist in this country.
is a YouTuber, a commercial model and a passionate writer focusing on personal profiling and entertainment news.
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