Citizen TV has found a replacement for Joy Muthengi. According to reports, the Roya Media Services premier television has poached glamorous K24 presenter Serah Ndanu Teshna. Ms. Ndanu will now host the Day Break show alongside Willis Raburu and Waihiga Mwaura.
She holds a degree in Tourism Management and Sociology at the University of Nairobi.
At K24, she hosted K24 Alfajiri and has also previously hosted the Screen Therapy show on KTN .
Her predecessor, Joey, left the Citizen TV in November after she took up a brand ambassadorial role for betting company Betin, which is in direct competition with Royal Media Services betting platform Shabiki.com.
Ms. Ndani is one of Kenya’s most celebrated actresses who has had several leading roles in both TV and film.
In 2011 she appeared in the film The Rugged Priest, a role which won her the Best Lead Actress in the 2011 Kalasha Awards. In 2013, she was cast as a leading actress in the Swahili drama, Sumu la Penzi . Serah has also previously hosted the Screen Therapy show on KTN.
The 29-year-old began acting in church at age five. Her mother was a drama teacher and this helped to push her into acting. She continued acting when she joined Phime Academy in Western Kenya for her primary school education.
“In Class Five, she got to play the lead role in a play set for drama festivals. The drama teacher at the time realised she had potential and gave her the lead role despite her age. She ended up winning Best Actress award during the national contest. In high school (Loreto High School, Matunda),” says one of the reports.
The vacancy that Ms. Ndanu will be filling came up following a betting row between Ms. Muthengi and Citizen over her appearances on Betin gambling adverts, which she made together with footballer McDonald Mariga.
Citizen saw this as a conflict of interest because it owns and runs the betting firm known as Shabiki.