Kikeke: My journey to stardom

He has won the hearts of millions of television viewers across borders, arguably due to his strong work ethics and high level of professionalism.

He is the homeboy, who, over the years, has not only made all of us proud for sharing the same nation and a background, but also one who has inspired a whole generation of future journalists.

Meet Salim Kikeke, the Tanzanian whose work at the BBC Swahili News Service in London has become a source of not just Tanzanian, but also African pride.

Seeing him do what he knows best in the studio, one would be forgiven to imagine that he is a young man who had a smooth flight to the limelight. But no one knows better than Kikeke, that the journey into stardom cannot be covered in a day.

Did the wise not say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step? For him to be now working with a top-notch international company like BBC, it began a long time ago.

“My mother was the first to inspire confidence in me to enter into broadcasting. She was always listening to the news and persuaded me to track all the information that was being discussed,” he recalls during his recent visit to Tanzania.

Follow the news cycle

“She helped me understand the importance of following the news cycle. She also helped me to properly pronounce all the words I heard over the many broadcasts that we listened to together,” says Kikeke.

Interestingly, he had chosen a different path altogether. In 1994, he was armed with a diploma in irrigation and technology from the College of Agriculture in Nyegezi, Mwanza. But he was dissatisfied with the many aspects of his job, and so, he began looking for a new direction.

As fate would have it, in 1997, armed, not with any media qualification, but with the courage from his loving mother, he kncocked on the door of CTN broadcasting station, now called Magic FM.

“They had opened a new centre, Classic FM, so I took the decision to apply for an internship, for which I was offered no pay. I was given the task of playing music in English,” Kikeke fondly reminisces.

Short courses

In January 1998, he decided to begin studying towards a journalism qualification. He enrolled for short courses in broadcasting at the Tanzania School of Journalism (TSJ).

“While studying at the college, I began reading stories in English and Swahili. However, a month later they kicked me out,” he says. He never really says why, but life had to move on. He never gave up on his ambition.

He was to get a job at Radio Tanzania, but later lured back to ESPN where he stayed until August 2000, when the company was sold off to be under DTV and Channel Ten.

He worked as the international news editor until 2011, when he left for ITV. It was while working at ITV that the oportunity to work with BBC knocked on his door.

IPP Media has an exhange programme with BBC Radio. Each year, a lucky broadcaster with IPP Media gets an oportunity to work from the BBC headquarters in London for five months.

It was in May 2003 when Kikeke got his chance. That was the move that changed the course of his career.

He wasted no time after hearing about the exchange programme, and most importantly, the possibility of landing a full time job at BBC.

“It was not easy for me to leave ITV. But we talked it over, and we both decided that moving to the BBC was an important move for my career development,” says Kikeke.

The BBC interview

He calls his interview with the BBC a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. Bungling was not an option because there was a large pool of applicants eyeing the one position being offered. But Kikeke says he entered the interview room well prepared.

“I was the first person to enter the interview room. Looking back on the experience, I think I did pretty well. I had to read the news bulletin loudly bofore the interviewers who were determining my ability to properly pronounce words in English,”says Kikeke.

He adds: “The lead interviewer, Gray Phombeyah from the BBC offices in Nairobi Kenya, was very impressed by my ability.”

After the end of the interview, Kikeke passed the test and was given the opportunity to relocate to the UK. “I remember Gray telling me the good news.

I was so excited.” Because of his exceptional broadcasting skills, Kikeke had his stay extended after his initial five months ended.

In recent times, radio and television operations have been expanding in Tanzania, which has availed many employment opportunities in the sector.

And talking to him about how he views the media industry in Tanzania today, Kikeke is of the opinion that there is so much missing in the conduct of the new generation of TV and Radio personalities.

He is disappointed by the fact that the majority of broadcasters lack the necessary qualifications, skills and drive for the task.

“I have no doubt (for example) that slang is accepted in entertainment and sports. However, it’s not acceptable for a broadcaster to make mistakes in the pronunciation of Kiswahili words. They spoil the language by placing ‘L’s’ instead of ‘R’s’. This is wrong. Yet it happens all the time,” he says.

His advice

Kikeke says in order to become an international broadcaster, there are various techniques that everyone should follow.

“We must learn to watch inspiring people and see what they are doing. Additionally, you can never stop learning. I’m currently studying for a degree in international relations,” he says proudly.

It’s also vital during the learning stage to constantly want to improve and recognise the errors that may affect your work. “If you do not recognise your mistakes it is not easy to change,” says Kikeke.

Ambassador of Kiswahili

With millions of BBC viewers from all over the world, Kikeke is an ambassador of Kiswahili. He says Kiswahili is “a great language that has reached many areas”.

“Tanzania should be proud of this language, that is why it is important to ensure that the media improves and protects the usage of our language,” Kikeke says.

He adds: “If a broadcaster destroys the use of our language, the social ramifications will follow.”

Through his work, Kikeke has won the hearts of many Africans in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the DR Congo and other areas where the BBC broadcasts.

To him, it is a source of inspiration. He quicklly points out that when it comes to work, he sees himself more than just Tanzanian.

“I feel great when I see people appreciating my work, especially in Kenya and Tanzania, so I have to identify with the entire East African community,” he says.

The issue of nationality is not important. “All I want is to bring all of East Africa together.”

Despite his success, Kikeke remains a simple man. “I am a simple man. I’m certainly not ready to complicate my life. I live, eat and laugh with everyone,” he says.

So, when he is not in the studio, Kikeke engages in various sports including football and car racing. He also does a lot of bodily exercises.

“Also I spend plenty of time on Facebook and Twitter to communicate with different people and my fans,” he says.

But over the years, one tradition that he has kept alive is regularly relaxing at home to watch videos of himself broadcasting as a young man when he was still very much under the tutelage of his mother, who died in 2008.

“These tapes are still at our home in Moshi. My mother stopped recording my performances in 2008 when she became ill, just before her death.

When I go back home and see these videos, I feel pains and I remember my mother teaching me how to properly pronounce my words.”