In 2021, former radio presenter-turned politician Jalang’o vowed to never work with Kenyatta family’s MediaMa, the media station that is owned by the first family. This disclosure came two years after Jalang’o left MediaMax’s Radio Milele and returned to Kiss FM where his radio journey began.
According to the former KISS FM morning presenter, MediaMax is an employer who is efficient in killing talents.
“Those people are talent killers. It’s good when you join but later nobody wants to listen nor pay you. Have you seen how many times they have tried to rebrand?” he said.
Jalang’o said that his former media colleague and friend Betty Kyallo had quit K24 on air because she was struggling. “See Betty Kyallo for example she resigned on air because she was struggling. I washed my hands, that night we were being fired,” he said.
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He revealed that his decision to join Kiss FM was natural, since that is where he had began his career. “I had received around 8 calls immediately after I resigned, Patrick Quarcoo (CEO of Radio Africa) called me to come back home,” said Jalang’o.
He went on to host the morning show at Kiss FM with Kamene Goro. Jalang’o replaced the controversial Kibe who had been hosting the show with Kamene. Kamene and Kibe’s friendship has since soured. the two no longer see eye to eye. When Kibe left Kiss, it was widely rumoured that he had been fired to pave way for Jalang’o.
MediaMax has gained notoriety as one of the most ruthless employers in Kenya. The company fired close to 100 employees at night through text messages. This was after instituting a fifty per cent salary reduction.
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On Sunday December 6 2020, former presenter Anne Kiguta became one of the high profile presenters to quit MediaMax on air. She has cited “fundamental disagreement on the editorial processes and direction her show was being forced to take”.
MediaMax currently runs the People Daily Newspaper, Tv stations (Kameme and K24) Radio stations ( Emoo FM, Milele FM, Kameme FM, Msenangu (formerly Pilipili FM), Mayian FM and Meru FM. Its stations are widely known for taking pro-government political stands.