What can you do with Ksh100,000? Those were the words reverberating through the mind of Kameme FM presenter Benson Kamau known to many as Muthee Kiengei after he received the contract to work at the station.
For Kiengei, he did not envision how he would ultimately live his dream and work at Kameme FM but his stars fortunately aligned.
While narrating at a past interview, Kiengei detailed his humble upbringing- reminiscing of rags to riches tale- as he rose to become a synonymous figure in society.
“I used to sell CDs using a bicycle to make ends meet. At the time when my mother was sick and so I had to raise adequate funds to meet her medical expenses. This wasn’t easy as we were poverty-stricken,” Kiengei stated while revealing how his role as the firstborn piled lots of pressure on him.
He found a silver lining when he heard Kameme FM auditioning for presenters.
“There were three auditions across three counties and I was rejected in Nyeri and Embu. Fortunately, the third audition was in Nakuru and I resorted to grace the audition. On that particular day, there were over 10,000 people who came for auditions,” he noted.
When his time came, Kiengei was given three minutes to impress the judges or forget about his dream of being on air.
“When I entered the room, I found Kihenjo, Njogu wa Njoroge and Sammy Ndede doing the auditions.
“I was told to give a skit and make them laugh. The first few jokes fell flat. So I told a joke about how in primary we were given an assignment by our teacher to draw a cow that is standing and I opted to draw one that is seated.
“The following day, my teacher enquired why I did not draw as required. I stated that I drew the cow while standing and 24 hours later he was tired so he rested,” he recounted amid laughter from the judges.
The popular presenter was chosen to be part of the top 20 candidates and divulged how he survived three more rounds of shortlisting to end up in the top four slots.
“Since it was a competition, they announced the names on the radio and requested viewers to vote for the top four.
Number one would get Ksh100,000 and a contract, runners up would get Ksh50,000, third place would be given Ksh30,000 and fourth would get Ksh15,000,” he noted.
“Over the past few days, we were treated like kings as everything was catered for. They spent on average Ksh30,000 on each of us,” he added.
On the day of announcing the winner, Kiengei noted that he would not imagine clinching the position and gaining the contract. However, his name was called as the final person on the list.
“I couldn’t imagine that I was selected to be the number one person. I recall collapsing in shock after the announcement,” he stated.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE