Lang'ata Member of Parliament (MP) Jalang'o recalled how his dreams were shuttered when he got his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results after completing high school.
Speaking during an interview on Kameme FM, Jalang'o noted that he was a bright student who excelled in primary school.
He passed with flying colours when he sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and he received a letter to join the prestigious Maseno School.
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However, Jalang'o failed to join Maseno School as his father couldn't raise the school fees in time and as a result, his slot was sold.
Jalang'o instead joined Bar Kanyang'o secondary school for form one before he transferred to Nyang'oma Boys School where he sat for his KCSE.
The Lang'ata MP said he attained a mean grade of C+ when he sat for KCSE. He acknowledged that he didn't perform well because he was always home because of school fees arrears.
"Kufukuzwa ni kama kawaida, half of the term I was not even in school. Most of the time nasoma tu nkiwa tu nyumbani sasa dadika ya mwisho ndo unaleta [fees] kidogo ndo ufanye mtihani," Jalang'o said.
"Vitu kama bunsen burner mi niliona siku ya mtihani last exams ndo sasa naziona," he added.
Jalang'o's dreams were shattered when his late father couldn’t afford the fees for college.
The Lang'ata MP noted that he approached his father after he got his KSCE result and inquired if he would be joining college.
However, his father laughed and wondered how he could manage to pay his college fees when he couldn't even pay his high school fees.
"Nliambia baba yangu tunaenda college lini, baba yangu hajawai cheka… 'kama high school ndo nimeteseka kukupeleka, college naanzia wapi? Hii ndo mwisho yako'," Jalang'o recalled.
Jalang'o said he slipped into depression as he watched his peers go to college yet he couldn't further his education.
The Lang'ata MP said he locked himself in the house for the longest and just came out to wander in the village as his peers returned from college so that people would also think he had just gotten back home from school.
"Si unajua kama mumezaliwa mtaa ule unaskia ameenda wapi, ule ameenda wapi. So I used to lock myself in the house for the longest time, for the longest ili watu wasipate kujua. So watu wakitoka ile half term kwa macolleges ndo najitokeza, na act ni kama mimi pia nimeingia college," Jalang'o said.
The lawmaker added that he wanted to pursue a course in nursing or teaching in college.
Jalang'o ultimately stopped hiding in the house and went out to face life head-on. He tried enlisting for the police and military during recruitment exercises in vain.
In the end, Jalang'o joined fishermen in Homa Bay County.
"Nilijaribu kila kitu but then I went for fishing. Kama unaonanga mtendaoni nimebeba masamaki hivi huyo ni mimi sasa nikiwa mvuvi," he said.
Nairobi
Jalang'o was later employed as a casual labourer at a fish processing plant in Homa Bay before he moved to Nairobi where he had his breakthrough.
In Nairobi, Jalas worked in the Industrial Area as a casual labourer for years before he tried his luck in acting at the Kenya National Theatre.
Jalang'o's acting career took off when he landed a gig as a narrator for high school playbooks.
However, his star shone even brighter when he landed a role in Papa Shirandula TV show which propelled him to greater heights. The late Charles Bukeko (Papa Shirandula) was the one who christened him Jalang'o when he gave him a role in his show.
Jalang'o ultimately escaped poverty for good in 2004 when he joined Kiss FM for the first time and started his career as a radio presenter. He worked at Kiss FM alongside veteran media personality Caroline Mutoko.
Jalang’o later transitioned to Radio Maisha in 2012, after which he later moved on to Hot 96 FM in 2017. In 2018 he moved to Milele FM.
In July 2020, Jalang’o went back to where he began his radio career as a morning presenter at Kiss 100 where he was a co-host to Kamene Goro.
Jalang’o quit Kiss FM in February 2022 to focus on political campaigns as he contested for the Lang’ata parliamentary seat in the August 9, 2022 General Election.
