KTN has been raided again, this time round by K24 and the county government of Taita Taveta. The Mombasa road-based media house has lost two celebrated journalists.
Mashirima Kapombe recently quit KTN to join Citizen TV. Her departure followed a similar move by Joe Ageyo and Yvonne Okwara who all joined Citizen TV.
The latest journalists to leave KTN are Dennis Onsarigo and Betty Kyallo. Onsarigo quits media to join Taita Taveta county government as the Director of Communications.
Onsarigo is the fourth popular journalist to join county government to serve in communication office, former NTV reporter Kennedy Murithi (Tharaka Nithi), former KTN reporter Carol Nderi (Nyeri) and former NTV reporter Richard Chacha (Mombasa) all serve as Directors of Communication in county governments.
K24 it is
Betty Kyallo is leaving KTN for K24, sources say the celebrated anchor resigned from Standard Group earlier and had been serving notice.
Betty Kyallo and Dennis Onsarigo’s exit come a few days after they set tongues wagging when they posed together. Betty even said that they were the new dynamic duo on TV.
Dennis Onsarigo escaped with his life from a fatal accident on Southern bypass. The KTN crime reporter has now resumed duty after a month of recovery.
Onsarigo cheated death on October 7th when he was nearly mowed down by a speeding truck which had lost control. He was cycling with his cronies along Southern bypass when the accident happened.
6 hour surgery
Onsarigo broke collar bone in the accident. He sustained serious injuries when he jumped from his bicycle to avoid being run over by the speeding truck.
Onsarigo has resumed duties even though he won’t be cycling soon. The journalist says it will take him at least a month before he can start cycling again.
“Heading back to work after a month plus with/of a broken collar bone; baby steps. Should be back on my bike ? in a month.. back to square one,” wrote Onsarigo
Ekuru Aukot has clashed with KTN reporter Dennis Onsarigo whom he referred to as illiterate. The Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate is not pleased by the journalist’s sentiments.
Onsarigo, who is still recuperating after surviving a road accident, said that Kenyans should focus on the looming constitutional crisis instead of paying attention to Aukot who was recently cleared by the court to vie for president.
“Kenyan Media must be brave enough and tell the country that we are facing constitutional crisis; the rest- laws, Aukot- are sideshows,” Dennis Onsarigo tweeted.
Aukot gets irritated
Aukot caught a major one and he decided to fire back. The Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate claims that Onsarigo is an ‘educated’ illiterate who doesn’t understand the meaning of constitutional crisis.
“Do you even understand what a “constitutional crisis” is? Stick to your lane. Stop being an “educated” illiterate,” Ekuru Aukot tweeted.
Ansarigo was however not done with Aukot, he tweeted back telling him that he could interpret the law better to the masses than he could.
“?? sadly I can interpret the law better for the masses than you can; this is the beauty of journalism.”
KTN crime reporter Dennis Onsarigo is recuperating at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi after he survived a grisly road accident.
Onsarigo and his cronies love riding bicycles along the Southern bypass, they usually cycle the entire length of the dual carriage which stretches 28.6kilometres from Ole Sereni on Mombasa Road to Kikuyu on the junction of Nairobi/Nakuru highway.
Tragedy happened on Saturday when Onsarigo was cycling on the busy bypass which is mostly used by trailers avoiding to pass through the CBD. The KTN reporter noticed a track had lost control and was speeding towards him.
“I went riding a bike ? on Saturday.. I had done 23Kms one way when a truck left the main road on to my path wanting to overlap. I decide let me outpace it because it will leave dust on me.. step on the peddle, look over my shoulder and the truck has now increased pace; step on the pedal again and the truck driver impatient now honks… glancing back for a third time …The truck is literally inches of “breathing” from me.. I turn my head before I can leave the bicycle path, I lose control of the beast.. push over, I land head first – thank God I had a helmet- then my shoulder, the landing force tosses me just a yard from the truck,” Onsarigo narrated his ordeal.
The KTN reporter however survived being smashed by the speeding truck as he landed a few meters from where the truck crashed.
“Screams from other motorists, the screeching slamming on brakes and now lost in dust, I can hear my own breathing.. I try lifting myself up, I can’t. A sharp pain on my collar bone, tells me I have fractured something.
Long story short, I survived a truck crashing me.. it was a touching distance from where I lay.
Flashback: previous night a colleague had told me not to go riding after I told them I wasn’t sure about riding on that road… that morning, I bought a new helmet and said a prayer .. something I rarely do when going biking.”
Onsarigo stated that it suddenly dawned on him how life was so fragile when he was being wheeled into surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital for a six hour operation.
“As I was wheeled into the operating room for a six hour operation it hit me; life is short .. when the surgeons dimmed the lights out of my life, I had died for six hours… what if I never returned?
Lucky to be alive; time I figured what this accident means.”
KTN crime reporter Dennis Onsarigo is arguably among the few media personalities who have managed to keep their private lives away from limelight.
For starters, Onsarigo is a happily married man. He is a father of a two children, a boy named Andy and a daughter Seanice.
The Onsarigos
Apparently the KTN crime reporter fathered his first child Seanice when he was still a young man. Onsarigo revealed this as his daughter was celebrating her 11th birthday.
Onsarigo also revealed that his daughter occassionally refers him as ‘Mr. Dennis’ when she feels he is ignoring her.
Seanice
“@seanice.onsa we turned eleven today. This young gal showed up in my life when I was a bit young; she at times refers to me as “Mr Dennis” when she thinks I’am too busy on phone or ignoring her.. Have a good one! Happy birthday,” wrote Onsarigo.
KTN crime reporter Dennis Onsarigo is arguably among the few media personalities in the country who have managed to keep their private lives away from limelight.
Onsarigo has however opened up about his family; the father of two has been mesmerized by how his kids have grown up so fast.
The Onsarigos
The KTN reporter says that he is tight with his son Andy, he confided in him that he had three girls in his life. And his wife doesn’t know about it.
For Seanice (his daughter) Onsarigo revealed that she keeps her secret from him. Apparently she is very cautious of her dad poking his nose into her business.
“I was coming back from my morning run when I ran into the one on your right ( Andy), he was on the move, bag on his back; a quick hi dad and off he left. The one at center was yet to leave, met her rushing down the stairs, “hi dad” she disappeared into the kitchen. They got me thinking; they have lives, they have plans, friends, dreams. Andy teases me a lot when he says he is better than me ?, he beats me in PS, he asks me why I support politicians, he wonders why I should get home late. He has secrets ? we are boys like that. He even says he can do with an extra pillow- my body- when he wants to sleep.?He now has three gals in his life; mum doesn’t need to know he keeps on reminding me. Seanice has her own secrets, every time I probe she says “Dad, mind your biz, jeez”. The other day I walked into her bedroom, she was chatting with her friends; “dad i’am on phone, do you mind?”? Kids complete us in many ways, sometimes we get so busy we forget they are growing and that they are busy too. But they say treat people who come into your life like you would your kids-people show up in your space in different shapes and shades; bruised, triumphant, defeated, hopeful, name it; But they do it for a reason, find out why-you just never know whom they will end up with. Kids are a reflection of us.
Dennis Onsarigo with his daughter and son
“They also say: People tell you who they are but we ignore it; because we want to let them be who we want them to be.
“Life has a way of humbling us, revealing our weakest side but again gives us a chance to be our best. Seize the best in life; you only have one life to live… not for long.✍️ it has to start somewhere, where you left it. ??.” Dennis Onsarigo wrote.
