Salaams club: How 'first radio celebrities’ defined a generation

Radio listeners [Photo: Courtesy]

There was a time when sending salaams over the radio was all the rage. The most mentioned senders and those being greeted became instant radio ‘celebrities.’ While those who grew up with FM radio stations may be at sea over this, their parents who must have listened to Voice of Kenya (VoK) and later KBC would know what the fuss was all about.

Household celebrity salaams names include; ‘Mama Safi’ Agneta Machinga kutoka Nakuru, Francis Kadenge Omwana wa Leah, ‘One and-a-half Lady,’ ‘Sura Mbili’ Kiango Momanyi, Boaz Kizito Lijoodi, Arabian Mwarabu, Rama bin Rama, Robi Reuben Robi and the late Moses Shoto Omunyololo.  These were the mabingwa wa kutuma salamu, which was nusu ya kuonana at the time of Maziwa ya Nyayo when Kenya was a single-party state and Sh5 was not a coin, but a banknote.