The sad story of Citizen’s Jacque Maribe has exposed the false lives most glamorous, pretty, smart and outgoing beauties who grace local television screens live.
By virtue of appearing on screens during prime times,they are a target of moneyed personalities. Word has it, they easily fall in love and compete among themselves boasting who is who in their love life to outwit each other.
They want to live a larger life they cannot afford. They have fallen prey to shrewd men who after exploiting them sexually promising them mana from heaven end up dumping them on grounds, they are only cute on screens but wanting in bed.
One was even told, the face that was seen on screen was not the true physical picture that was expected.
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They are accused of being demanding, forcing men who enter into a relationship with them to engage in criminal activities to sustain their lifestyles. Putting money in front at the expense of health, they engage in unprotected sex and that is why many are pregnant with dead-beat dads.
The arrest of Maribe fiancée, Joseph Kuria Irungu opened the lid on her life that she was engaged not only to a thug but a deadly killer.
Jacque Maribe with her estarnged but now embattled fiancee who is currently in custody for the murder of one Monica Kimani
Irungu is suspected to have killed Monica Nyawira Kimani in her apartment at Lamuria Gardens on Kitale Lane, off Denis Pritt Road. Police persuing a theory of robbery with violence. Aware the late had arrived from South Sudan and had dollars, Kimani wanted money to entertain Maribe.
Irungu alias Jowie is a bouncer in the UAE and previously was to marry Maureen Kahehu but broke up when she got wind of Maribe’s existence in the picture. Kahehu had discovered, Kimani was not liquid as such but dropped big names to fool ladies.
Monica was scheduled to travel to Dubai for a vacation before going back to Sudan.
Like a Mexican Soap Opera, Irungu got engaged to Maribe in July at a colourful ceremony that was streamed live on Instagram.
The occasion was attended by among others actress Shix Kapienga and anchor Terryanne Chebet, another media hoe.
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Before the engagement, there was speculation the anchor was dating State House’s secretary of Innovation, Digital and Diaspora Communication, Dennis Itumbi. On one occasion, Itumbi even surprised her with a birthday cake in the middle of a live news broadcast.
But it has not been rosy for most TV girls as scandals dog their lives.
Below are some of them:
Esther Arunga
For a long time, Esther Arunga was the darling of the Kenyan media fraternity. She was young, beautiful and had intelligence in abundance.
She was everything the Kenyan audience wanted in a media personality. She started off at Capital FM where she hit a bit of a speed bump when she clashed with a co-worker who had more clout in the form of Pinky Ghelani. That story became an urban legend after the pair clashed live on air.
Esther Arunga then moved to KTN where she really bloomed and came into her own. She was now set for an illustrious career.
But in 2009 Arunga joined the Finger of God Church started by Joseph Hellon, a distant relative. She became engaged to Wilson Malaba, an elder of the church, but in early 2010 they called off the engagement.
She then moved out of her parents’ house to live in a church-owned mansion with Hellon, his wife, and a number of other church members.
That February, she, Hellon, and Quincy Timberlake announced the formation of the Placenta Party (Platinum Centraliser and Unionist Party) of Kenya and Hellon’s candidacy for the presidency and Arunga’s for the seat of Karachuonyo constituency and the deputy presidency.
Former TV News anchor Esther Arunga with Quincy Timberlake
Arunga then resigned from her job as a news anchor at KTN the same day. That night, a number of people associated with the church, including Arunga and Hellon, were arrested and charged with running an unregistered association, although the church had been registered five years before.
Computers and laptops were destroyed, documents confiscated and vehicles impounded by police.
She and Timberlake, she said, were isolated and tortured. She announced lawsuits against her parents, a psychiatrist, the Attorney General and the police for wrongful imprisonment and torture.
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Arunga was released after two days and on March 3, 2010, married Timberlake while he was still in custody.
Arunga and her husband then left Kenya and settled down with their young family in Australia. In 2012, Arunga became a registered barrister at the New South Wales Supreme Court and acquired Australian citizenship.
The couple lost their eldest son in 2014 when he died after it was claimed Arunga’s husband had attempted to perform an exorcism on the lad.
In September of the same year, he was charged with murder and Arunga too was charged but as an accessory and was granted bail.
Arunga after being released on bail testified that the child died after his father attempted “healing techniques” which included Quincy pressing down on the lad’s stomach and throwing him against a wall.
The last to be heard of her is that she changed her name to Chryslertte Provydence Timberlake and currently works as a storekeeper.
Betty Kyalo
Apart from switching jobs, K24 news anchor Betty Kyalo is famous for changing men, if stories going round social media platforms are to be believed.
Betty was in the news when it was reported that her relation with Mombasa governor Hassan Joho had ended.
Betty Kyalo formerly of KTN, now at K24
Betty took Joho’s arm after walking out of her marriage to fellow television star Dennis Okari.
She once told True Love magazine that she bonded with the governor on a common ground: that the governor was going through the same thing she was.
“He was going through the same thing, a separation, and we connected on that level. We tried to have something and it gave me comfort because we understood where we were with each other. He was easy to talk to, hang out and have fun with,” Betty said.
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She was even driving a Porsche Cayenne that was registered in Joho’s name. But it was the break up that astonished many as the Mombasa county boss took everything that belonged to him, leaving Betty in financial limbo.
The Betty who had walked out of the marriage to Okari to a fully furnished home in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, owning a BMW X6 and a Porsche Cayenne, cried when she was left with nothing.
Joho repossessed the Kilimani house which was not in Betty’s name, the BMW and Porsche Cayene which was repossessed as she drove along Mombasa Road when Joho’s guards stopped her near Nyayo Stadium.
The guards asked her to pick her personal effects before handing over the car keys.
The ever smiling beauty was left homeless and broke but the generous governor did not leave her empty handed. He gave her send-off money to start her new life.
Betty later sued Okari, then very close with Joho, for child support at the Milimani Children’s Court.
The NTV reporter, Okari surrendered his life to Christ.
Wambui Kabiru
The late NTV journalist Wambui Kabiru got married to another brute, journalist Moses Dola currently on trial for killing the former NTV news reporter.
According to court records, Wambui was brutally killed in her house at Nairobi’s Umoja estate in the early hours of May 1 2011. A postmortem report and the death certificate, that form part of the ongoing legal proceedings, indicated the death was caused by a heavy blow to the skull using a blunt object.
When Wambui’s body was found, Dola went missing and a major manhunt was mounted. It was later discovered that he had travelled to his rural home in Siaya. And that is how one of the most publicised murder trials in Kenya began.
Anne Nduta Kiguta
The wedding bells rang for several days before the sad news that television star Anne Nduta Kiguta would not tie the knot with president Uhuru Kenyatta’s personal assistant Jomo Gecaga.
This was after the TV siren deleted a video that she had uploaded wishing Jomo a happy Father’s Day last year.
Jomo, who is Uhuru’s nephew, reportedly took paternity leave in July 2016 when Kiguta delivered the twins, a boy and a girl.
Reports of the two being an item swirled when they attended a James Bond movie screening holding hands.
On Father’s Day in 2017, Kiguta posted a video of Jomo and her first born daughter, Wairimu from her previous relationship, having a daddy daughter moment and wished him a Happy Father’s Day.
The video has since been deleted from her account
Jomo was recently spotted with former TV girl Lola Hannigan. She in March this year attended the invite-only 40th birthday party of Nana Gecaga, Jomo’s younger sister at the Billionaire Resort in Malindi, Anne was not on the guest list.
During the live tour of American musician Rick Ross at the Carnivore, Jomo took up a whole tent for his friends, with Hannigan by his side.
Lilian Muli
The celebrated TV presenter Lilian Muli was in the news after a scandalous video of her causing a scene at a Nairobi restaurant went viral.
She narrated that at one point she had to work as the scandal was still trending, only for her to get a high fever and finally having to go to the hospital where she was nearly admitted for an anxiety attack.
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During the said incident, Muli was captured hurling insults at a waitress over what she termed as “shoddy service” and an incorrigible attitude.
She was later at it again when reports claimed she was busted having sex at the parking lot of a popular hotel in Hurlingham on Valentine’s Day.
Lilian Muli with Jared Nivaton
When the guards went to check what was going on, they were welcomed by strange noises as the sex anchor was being drilled by the well-built singer.
Lilian, according to reports, bribed the security guards with Sh10,000 but one loudmouthed guard leaked the information to other employees.
Lilian had been married to Moses Njuguna Kanene who proposed to her in a very dramatic way. One memorable Friday afternoon on November 28 2008, Moses showed up at the KTN offices. It was just minutes after the lunchtime news bulletin and Lillian had just completed her routine news reading.
To her, it was just another ordinary afternoon at the KTN studios. But Kanene bearing a cake, a bouquet of flowers and a tiny box was set to change Lillian’s day.
Before her colleagues, Lillian’s lovestruck boyfriend of four years went down on one knee, reached out for her hand and said the magic words: “Will you marry me?” What followed was an emotional scene. Lilian burst into joyous tears and turned the newsroom into a scene straight out of a Mexican soap opera.
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A few minutes later, Lilian was showing off an engagement ring from her husband to be, Kanene. But a few years later they divorced. Adultery was one of the grounds for divorce.
Anne Ngugi
Apart from being fired at K24 when she was heavily pregnant with twins, Ngugi had another shocker after her husband, Hypolite Nyongbia, was accused of swindling Sh6.4 million from two Korean and a Nigerian national.
Anne was also implicated in the scandal and that explains why employers are reluctant to hire her in their organisations.
She managed to secure a job with Africa News channel as a correspondent. She is now a presenter at BBC Swahili in Nairobi where she is popular with listeners for her newsy interesting feature stories.
Anne, a Kiswahili news anchor, launched her career on the KTN TV screen.
After working there for quite some time, she left to join K24. However, her career on the new TV station was shortlived as she had to leave after only six months.
Her support for her first-born daughter, Angel, who was born with a condition called congenital hydrocephalus cannot be overlooked.
Anne has supported her daughter’s music career through many initiatives including starting the Angel Foundation. She also trains and mentors young people who aspire to join the media industry.
Louis Otieno
Louis Armstrong Otieno made his debut on television as a presenter and was not long before audiences began to notice the young man with a projecting voice, quick wit and easy screen presence.
Prime time comments on his grasp of Kiswahili and English started streaming in. Soon, TV stations wanted Otieno as an anchor on prime time news.
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His career in media grew as he commanded such authority in the studio that he became one of the highest paid anchors of his time. Then things started crumbling. First came the news that he was falling out with his editors and crew. His critics mentioned arrogance. They said he was becoming bigger than himself.
Otieno’s taste for fine things took the centrestage during an inquest into the death Careen Chepchumba who was murdered.
It emerged that Careen could have differed with Otieno over nonpayment of a box of expensive cigars she had ordered from a duty-free shop at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport a week prior to her death.
The court heard that a week before Careen was found dead in her apartment in Kilimani’s Santonia court on February 14 2012, she ordered a box of 20 sticks of Davidov cigars valued at Sh31,000 at the time.
Her family accused him of killing her.
As suddenly as he had appeared on the screen, Otieno disappeared. Snapshots of some of the powerful interviews he did would emerge, a brief reminder of a man who once had so much control of news content that media houses accorded him a whole team of producers to work with.
But today, he is a shell of his former self. The power has been sapped. The spring is gone. His hearing had gone and he could no longer hear the powerful interviews he once gave. Thank God, he is now hearing after treatment.
Tinna Koroso, a Tanzanian of Radio Maisha.
Koroso walked out of her marriage when her former husband became physically abusive. He even threatened her career by calling her while at work- live on air on radio- and harassing her. He would call every phone in the office in attempts to control her life. He eventually took away their children and she currently visits them whenever she wants at his house.
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Willis Raburu
Willis Raburu engaged his long-time TV reporter girlfriend with a ring estimated to cost Sh100,000 and Kenyans went wild. Another love story brewed in the newsroom. This was as 2016 began and Sally Mbilu (the fiancée) was definitely on cloud nine.
However, weeks later, the two went quiet. No more littering social media accounts with pictures of each other. According to an article by a weekly tabloid, the two were no longer on speaking terms and the engagement was off.
No idea why but Willis came out of the incident more popular and vocal.
Shaffie Weru
The Kiss 100 FM presenter, Shaffie and Debbie Asila way back when couples making their relationships public was rare. The two became a status symbol of relationship goals and went ahead to conceive a daughter.
Suddenly, years down the line, they split. Shaffie went on to blow up at Kiss 100 while Asila continued with her music career.
No information was given on why they split but they have remained cordial friends for the sake of their kid.
Terryanne Chebet
Chebet, the former Citizen TV anchor was once dating George Ng’ang’a with whom she got a daughter.
But as fate is, they parted ways.
Recently, Chebet gave birth to another kid. She is yet to reveal the man responsible.
Patricia Kihoro
She recently set the record straight and confirmed that she is indeed a lesbian. The mellow voiced singer and radio presenter revealed that her mother introduced her to homosexual friends when she was a teenager adding that she would not take it as an insult if someone said she is lesbian.
Speaking during the screening of the controversial ‘Rafiki’ movie, Kihoro said:
“My mother has supported my work from the start and she always respects my opinion. The first people I ever met who were openly gay were friends of my mum. I was probably 16 years and she didn’t make a big deal about it, and therefore I also did not learn that was a big deal.”
Songstress and actress Patricia Kihoro
Her relationship with TV girl Edith Kimani has often left tongues wagging after the latter confessed to having spent a night with her cuddling.
Sheilah Mwanyigha and Linus Gitahi
Neighbours of former NTV presenter are curious if the former CEO of the group, Linus Gitahi is dating Sheilah Mwanyigha.
Silla Mwanyigah who has since lost her glory during her haydays
Linus is regularly spotted trying to sneak into Sheila’s residence along Parklands Road at odd hours.
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Linus is a regular at the place, sneaking in at midday and leaving at around 6 or 7pm. On a few occasions, he has been spotted leaving the place in the morning.
If the two are lovers, it might have originated from the time Linus was at Nation Media Group.
Swaleh Mdoe
The popular Kiswahili news anchor Swaleh Mdoe was in the new after a woman filed a case against him seeking to have his salary attached for upkeep of a child she claims he sired. Fauzia Ahmed wants the court to order Mdoe’s employer to attach part of his salary for maintenance of the child allegedly born in 2004.
The anchor was at one time deported to Tanzania for flirting with Lilian, who was then dating then government spokesman Alfred Mutua. He, however, managed to sneak back to the country. Mdoe shocked Kenyans recently when he advertised his kidney for sale to raise money to meet his extravagant lifestyle.
Ex-KTN editor Aaron Ochieng was linked to anchor Joy Doreen Biira’s stolen Mercedes that ended up as a criminal court case .
It is said Ms Biira, who had just checked into the newsroom to prepare for the 9pm bulletin, left her silver coloured Mercedes Benz E220 registration KBY 831K, in the parking lot but later she did not find it.
Former Capital FM presenter Grace Makosewe was found dead in her apartment in Golf Course Phase II estate.
She worked at Capital FM together with Cess Mutungi, and co-hosted The Jam show.Cess Mutungi social life was at one time at the centre of serious discussion.
Makosewe death is still a mystery. Makosewe had left Capital and joined Kisumu-based station Urban Radio.
