Go on son, and be a man...the story of Jalang’o

A few years ago, in a nondescript village in Siaya…

A young man wakes up at twilight. He is used to a few hours of sleep every night. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes, stretches, and as though on autopilot, quickly dons his almost threadbare clothes. With his tools of trade slung casually over his shoulders, he heads out towards the lake; the expansive waters where he ekes out his living every day. Hours later, on a good day, the 23-year-old man will, with a smile on his face, drag his heavy bag-full of fish to the market where he will trade the fish for some coins. Happy with his day’s work, he will walk home humming an indistinguishable song. Some days are not as bright though, and he will trudge home wearily, hoping that someday, the stars will smile down on him and he will catch a break.

 May 2018, in the plush parts of Nairobi…

A poised, medium-built, clean shaven man in blue jeans and a white tee walks out of a large compound in one of the plush sides of town. He has just left his work station, a radio station where he is a morning show host, a coveted position in the radio circles. He looks confident and self-assured as he stops to say something to the security guard at the gate. It must have been a funny quip, or a joke, because the man tilts his head back and lets out a deep belly laugh in response. He is a popular man, because just before he gets to his destination, he stops to answer a few greetings. He then stops, scans his surroundings and sees me. And he calmly walks towards me. He is every bit  aware of his influence and charm, and with a slow smile that crinkles his eyes, he stretches out his hand to me in a firm handshake. “I’m Felix Odiwuor, but you can call me Jalang’o.  It’s nice to meet you.”

Clearly the stars finally smiled down on the young man from the nondescript village in Siaya. He eventually caught his break. Today, he is a top morning show radio host, one of the most sought after emcees and CEO of two companies; Arena Media and The Jalang’o Foundation. “I will not talk about who I am seeing or not seeing, or my offspring,” he says while stretching his legs under the table.

He has managed to keep his family out of the limelight, at least as far as Kenyan celebrities do, but a few clicks online will reveal https://cdn.standardmedia.co.ke/images of his seven-year-old daughter with Cheptoek Boyo, a model and newspaper columnist.

 A determined father, firewood and maize

 His journey to being a top entertainer in the country has been one fraught with the challenge of having to prove himself, over and over again.

“During assembly times in high school, I would sometimes see my father walk into school carrying maize and firewood. He couldn’t pay the school fees, and thus brokered a deal with the head teacher to bring the goods in lieu of cash,” he says with a laugh.

“He would count every can of maize with the teacher to make sure it was the right quantity. Every time I saw this, I knew that I had to make him proud. Failing was not an option for me. It never has been.”

 This was in Nyangoma Boys School in Bondo, a school where he had to go because he couldn’t afford the school fees in Maseno School where he had been selected to after his KCPE results.

“Even my elder brother George dropped out of school just to give me the opportunity to go on with my education. They thought I had the potential to succeed. They believed in me. I can’t fail them,” he says resolutely.

Eventually, he completed his  high school, but knowing that higher education was a stretch, going by their financial standards, the future seemed bleak.

“My peers went on to college while I remained at home. After a year, I asked my dad when I would continue with higher education and he laughed at me.

“He asked me how I could think that he could afford to see me through college after seeing all he had gone through for me to finish my high school education.”

And that is how he ended up a fisherman in Lake Victoria.

Two shirts on his back

“One morning, my old man woke me up and gave me two shirts, two trousers and Sh 800. ‘Go be a man. Go to Nairobi and go to college.’ And so I left home. The two shirts and two trousers were all the clothes I had.”

 He lived with some old friends and then got a gig as a house manager for a relative.

“I would clean the house, wash his car, open and close the gate after him and do any tasks around the house,’’ he says.

After a while, he got restless. He reached out to an uncle in Embakasi and moved in with him.

 “I always wanted to be a pilot, but I knew that I could not possibly afford the tuition no matter how hard I worked. So I focused on my other passion: acting. In the meantime, I washed cars and did some construction work to put some food on the table and my uncle would graciously give me bus fare to the Kenya National Theatre for any auditions I needed to attend,” he says, while sipping his drink.

 Sometimes second-best isn’t all bad

 It only takes one time, to get the chance you desperately crave, and that is what happened when during one of his numerous auditions, he caught the eye of the judges.

 “I was selected as part of a second cast for a set book stage play. These are the people who stand in for the main cast if unavailable. That was something. It meant I was doing something right.”

He still kept up auditioning and seeking manual work to support his passion.  

 One day, while the theatre group was performing, the students showed up in large numbers and it was a big show.  One of the members of the main cast had gone drinking the previous night and did not show up. And so Jalang’o got his first lucky break.

 “I had waited three years for this opportunity. And when I took to the stage, I told God that this was my chance and I needed his help. I couldn’t fail.”

 Well, he didn’t. He blew everyone away, and permanently replaced the truant actor. It didn’t matter to the lad that he was paid Sh 200 or Sh 300 per set book play. He was living his dream.

And thus began his journey to stardom. A journey that saw him venture into TV and scoop a part in the Papa Shirandula show.

 And Kenya knew his name

From there things moved so fast. So fast that at the time of the interview, he seems to be in sort of a trance, speaking faster and in a steely tone.

  “Radio came beckoning. There was an audition call for someone to replace Nyambane on Kiss FM. There were so many people. They announced that they wanted only university degree holders. They wanted to weed people out. And so many left.”

 But he didn’t.

 “Still a large group was left.  They then asked that only people with degrees in communication and with some TV or radio show experience to stay behind.”

“I only had my KCPE and KCSE certificates and had never been on radio and TV before.”

 But he stayed. He had nothing to lose anyway.

“When it was my time to face the panel, I told them that I did not have the certificates they were looking for but I knew that I could do it.  They were all horrified.”

But the owner of the station was present, and he liked the brazen young man’s confidence. And so they gave him a chance.  He was in for a trial period together with others.

  

Radio queen meets novice

  “The first day I went on air, I was with Caroline Mutoko. I was numb. I was frozen. She was so beautiful and articulate. Her English stunned me. She introduced the show, introduced me and it was my cue to speak but I just couldn’t. I remember her yelling; ‘Speak young man’ and I remember saying without thinking, ‘Where I come from, women do not speak very loudly to men.  Reduce your volume.’ And she switched off the mic and told me that nobody has ever spoken to her like that. She then said that she liked me,” he says with a silly grin on his face.

 Only two contenders for the job were left and Jalan’go was one of them.

“They hired us. Two months later, the other fellow was dropped and Caroline and I became co-hosts of the show.”

And thus his radio career began.

He later moved to Radio Maisha then to Hot 96.

 Death of a force

The conception of his radio career was a bitter-sweet moment for him.

“The same day I got a call from Caroline Mutoko to inform me that I had the job at Kiss FM was the same day I received the news of the death of my  father. He had left a letter for me. He wanted me to build mum a house and ensure that my siblings completed their studies.”

And being the dutiful son, all that came to pass and he is also completing his degree in Community Development. 

“I wish he was alive. He would have been so proud,” he says forlornly.

 And for all the good he has received, he is giving back through The Jalang’o Foundation.

“It is my way of gratitude. I mentor the youth, pay school fees for others and help as much as I can.”

 Besides running Arena Media, a media marketing company, he is in a partnership to birth a sitcom and wants a future in politics too.

  “I will be running for a parliamentary seat in 2022. I know that I can bring positive change to the society,” he says confidently.

Anything he could change about his past? I ask

“I wish I was taller,” he jokes, but then quickly turns serious. “Seriously though, I wish I had more focus.” 

He is getting fidgety and it is time for him to leave.

Parting shot? I prod.

“Nobody chooses to be born poor, but one can choose to die poor.”

And with that, he is gone, probably on the hunt for the rest of his dreams.

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