Larry Madowo is perturbed by how tribalism as taken root in Kenya since August 8th. The NTV anchor reveals that he was warned against marrying a girl from Kikuyu tribe.
Larry cautions that Kenya has taken the same route Rwanda took in 1994 when nearly 1 million people were massacred because of tribal hatred.
The NTV anchor visited Kigali Genocide Memorial on Thursday November 16th. Larry says everybody will be affected if Kenya descends into anarchy.
“If the country goes to hell, it will burn for Jubilee and Nasa supporters equally. It won’t matter whether you voted for Uhuru or Raila or didn’t vote at all. Whether you are part of the Opposition’s supposed militia force or fully behind the ruling party’s ethnic cleansing brigade, the day of reckoning is coming.
“Last week, I went back to the Kigali Genocide Memorial where more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda are buried. A part of the history of the 1994 killings jumped at me this time even though I had done the same tour seven years ago,” Larry wrote on his column on Daily Nation.
Larry Madowo went to pay my respects to nearly 1 million people massacred in Rwanda in 1994 at the Kigali Genocide Memorial.
Cautionary tale
Larry says ‘concerned’ Kenyans warned him against marrying a lady from Kikuyu tribe. He reveals that the warning came following the deaths of Mike Okombe and Captain Apollo Malowa.
“A fortnight ago, a friend wanted me to translate a Facebook post in Dholuo for them. It turned out it had been posted on my page and warned me against marrying a Kikuyu girl after what had happened to the pilot of the chopper that crashed in Nakuru and rugby player Mike Okombe.
“The hundreds of comments below it all urged me to take the two cases as a cautionary tale and not marry outside the community. Many supporters of Nasa’s Resist campaign have added “resisting Njeri” as one of the tenets and it is almost dismissed as a joke.
“The first of the Hutu commandments outlawed relations with Tutsi women and we all know how that ended. ‘Every Hutu should know that a Tutsi woman, whoever she is, works for the interest of her Tutsi ethnic group. As a result, we shall consider a traitor any Hutu who marries a Tutsi woman, befriends a Tutsi woman, or employs a Tutsi woman as a secretary or concubine,’ it admonished,” wrote Madowo.
Amina Abdi stunned netizens with her makeup free appearance.The new Trend host was nearly unrecognizable when she hanged out with Larry and Ciru Muriuki.
Amina was unveiled as the new Trend host last Friday November 17th. She took over from Larry Madowo who left The Trend to focus on the relatively new political show Side Bar.
I look like a househelp
Amina Abdi with her makeup on
Larry, Ciru and Amina hanged out together on Tuesday noon. Amina wasn’t wearing any makeup when she went out with the two former Trend host and panelist.
Larry took to Instagram to share video of their lunchtime meeting. The new Trend host is seen hiding her face as Larry tries capturing her in the video.
“Oh! I look like a househelp without makeup,” Amina protested as Larry recorded her.
“Isn’t that the way you look every day?” Larry Madowo jokingly asked Amina.
Checkout the photos below to see how Amina looks without makeup:
Larry Madowo was on the receiving end of Jubilee supporters’ wrath. Larry’s decision to share a 2014 post was the reason why he was roasted.
So Raila Odinga’s supporters were banned from accessing JKIA and people can’t get why. The irony is that Uhuru’s supporters were allowed in JKIA three years ago when he returned from his trial at the Hague.
Larry points out the irony
Larry Madowo says journalists were allowed inside the airport to cover Uhuru’s return in 2014. Police also blocked journalists from covering Raila’s return at JKIA on Friday.
”When President Uhuru Kenyatta returned from The Hague on 9th October, 2014. Supporters were allowed inside the airport, TV stations set up trucks by the airside. I know because I was there. We covered it live,” wrote Larry Madowo.
Jubilee supporters react
Uhuru’s supporters launched scathing attack on Larry thanks to his post on Facebook. Over 7000 people commented on Larry’s post as Jubilee and Nasa supporters threw words at each other.
Larry Madowo is among Kenyan celebs who are successful in their endeavors but have not married yet. The NTV anchor was recently trolled for being a senior bachelor.
Madowo bumped into his first employer Lorna Nyatome and she decided to introduce him to his fans. The two met at the exclusive Capital Club East Africa.
“The amazing Lorna Nyatome gave me my first paid job in media when I was just 19. She hired me as a writer for a now defunct consumer tech magazine called E1. I was objectively terrible but she had faith in me & saw potential. I’m forever grateful to her for getting me started in journalism that early,” wrote Larry Madowo in part.
Larry Madowo with his first employer Lorna Nyatome
The NTV anchor also reveals how his first job reaffirmed his career choice. He says that tech remains his first love even though he as been successful in other genre like politics and pop culture.
“That gig cemented my love for technology, taught me how to write and reaffirmed my career choice. Even though I went on to cover business news, politics and pop culture, tech has always been my first love.
“The moral of this story is that you need to start now, with what you have and what you already know. As a 19-year-old first year student in college, I didn’t have much writing skills but I knew I wanted to make a career in journalism.
“When I went for the interview that got me hired at KTN, I had nothing but those writing samples from jobs like this. Linus Kaikai, Farida Karoney and the management then hired me purely on the strength of my writing.
Don’t wait until you get your diploma, degree or professional certification. Start looking for opportunities in your chosen field now!”
Netizens react
Haters hijacked Larry’s post on social media and started trolling him instead. Netizens made fun of Larry’s age and marital status.
Critics sarcastically implored Larry Madowo to marry. Some people offered to marry off their relatives to the NTV anchor.
See some of the comments from Larry’s detractors:
Lyeyah Jontez: But she looks young Pesa ni nzuri I say!!! Meanwhile rudisha mkono Larry!!! …See More
Mutahi Joseph: Return the favour! give someone a job! I have a cousin who can’t find a husband. zero ‘wifable’ qualifications just like you at 19, but look what you became. Rudisha mkono Larry, anakaa nyumbani anazaa tu kila mwaka,
Levis Omamo: Lorna nyatome we need to talk this boy hataki kuowa and you gave hem a job
Venus Faith: Waaa! But She looks like a man too. Kwa hivo Larry wwe ulianza job ya kibarua bila hata certificate? Ulikuwa tu na ya form four? Hii yote ni through back door? Na hiyo kizungu fluent uliisomea wapi?…See More
CJ Kwach: Larry as a token of appreciation Mary her daughter. Rudisha mkono Larry.
Naomi Gitari: Just going through the comments and its really unbelievable how some guys do’nt see anything beyond their hate & bitterness.All that negativity, are u human?@times, try to just tuck in your tails n breath!
Nelson Mwangi: how does this story help us in search of ovacado..u are disgrace to journalism fraternity
Dorcas De Blessed: Th other time Yu said Yu were 20…..we kwenda huko…..u r thate fae n we ain’t gonna argue
Emmaculate Maina: Larry hii ni swali tu.. ulipata hio job afta form four tu ama ukiwa first yr? Coz sisi wengine at 19 tuko mafresher.. anyway congrats you are the best.
Josure Ndirangu De Santa: since you were helped Mr. Larry Madowo how many opportunities have you created yourself for others?
Dennoz Viyerrah Kirwa: I want to know how many have you assisted to grow, how many have you fought for to get a job in media industry??? That’s the best you can pay to Lorna Nyatome nothing else
Last Friday November 10th was Ciru Muriuki’s last appearance on the Trend. She quit the NTV show after three years of service.
Ciku’s exit comes only four months after Larry Madowo quit the show. The NTV anchor left the Trend to focus on the new political show ‘Sidebar’.
Ciru Muriuki and Larry Madowo
Ciru Muriuki started out as a radio presenter at Nation FM before she was sacked. She however remained on the Trend until last Friday when she quit.
Ciru explains why she quit
The former Trend panelist acknowledges that the show opened doors of opportunities for her. She explains that she left the Trend to walk into one of the doors that the show opened for her.
Ciru says that she will announce the next step of her journey soon. She thanked her fans for the love and support they showed her during her stint on the Trend.
The Trend family as it was formerly constituted
“Good morning! Last night, I did my final show on The Trend. It has been three crazy years. When what later became the #TTTT segment started, it was literally 10 minutes of television with me and Anto Neosoul in the Nation FM studios. At the time, i had no way of knowing how big the show would get. I gained an on air family in @larrymadowo @eddiebutita , @mamarthur @anitanderu @blessednjugush and @jahmbykoikai. This show has opened doors beyond my wildest dreams, and I’m walking through one of those doors now. I’m very excited about what the future holds and I will be sharing the next stage of my journey with you all as soon as I’m allowed to! Thank you all for your love and support and I hope you will join me for the next chapter!
As always, ? by @festolang,” Ciru wrote.
Ujaluo gharama! Larry Madowo has affirmed that he will be among the first Kenyans to buy iPhone X. The phone was recently released to the market.
iPhone is an exclusive brand that speaks volumes about your pocket. iPhone X was released on Friday November 3rd in US and Kenyans are already talking about buying the phone.
Larry Madowo can’t wait to buy the phone after his cousin who resides in US sent him photos. Larry says his cousin Charles Madowo told him New Yorkers were queuing to buy iPhone X.
Larry Madowo with his cousin Charles Madowo
“THE IPHONE X (pronounced “ten”) came out on Friday and my cousin, Charles Madowo, sent me a picture of several dozen people waiting in line hours before Apple stores opened in New York,” wrote Madowo in part.
$1,000/Kes 103,000
iPhone X is being sold at $1,000 or Kes 103,000 in America. Larry says he can’t wait to part with the 103k because the phone is a symbol of status.
“You can unlock it by just looking at it and has these things called animojis that allow you to take ordinary emojis and make them mimic your actual facial expressions.
“The camera has one or two nifty tricks added and the whole thing has a pretty Apple logo thrown at the back. For all those gimmicks, the price costs more than most laptops and almost every other phone on the market. Is Sh100,000 too much to spend on a phone?
“Sure, it is a status symbol and I can’t wait to get my hands on one but this is probably where our consumerism culture gone mad has truly fallen apart.”
Youth in Nyeri have gotten a raw deal as a granny has been chosen to represent them. Nyeri MCAs approved the appointment of 65-year-old Sheila Waruguru Githaiga as minister for Youth in Nyeri county government.
The sexagenarian was appointed by the governor for the docket despite uproar from the youth. Young MCAs in Nyeri County Assembly disapproved Sheila Githaiga’s appointment.
Sheila Githaiga
Majority of Nyeri MCAs however approved the sexagenarian’s nomination during a special sitting conducted on Monday October 23rd.
Kenyans reacts to granny appointment
Kenyans on social media have expressed their disappointment with the appointment of Sheila Githaiga as youth minister. Majority of netizens argued that the youth docket should be preserved for young people just like Women Representative posts are preserved for women.
Larry Madowo joined disgruntled youth in mocking the granny’s appointment. The NTV anchor took to Facebook to share a photo of the sexagenarian minister and captioned it with satirical words.
Nyeri’s Minister for Youth
“Meet the new Minister for Youth in the Nyeri county government: 65-year-old Sheila Githaiga,” Larry Madowo captioned a photo of Sheila Githaiga.
Below are some of the comments from Kenyans posted on Larry’s post on Facebook:
Pita Kinya: On behalf of my fellow Nyeri brothers and sisters, with sadness in our heart, we disown her as youth minister, she’s no longer one of us, the kisii can have her as youth minister ….
Rosemary Adegor: This is a mockery to the youth. How on earth can you have someone whose only memory of condom is ” rough rider”. Not amused at all! Please give a post to younger and energised person who understands the current world. No offence to the old lady though!
Mwangi Governor Mpenda Amani: Wonders will never seize. Huyu.shosh.anapaswa kuwa anaenjoy retirement yake..no wonder youths hawana job.I thought this government would b different. Long our young madam minister
Juliana Gathoni: pple from nyeri ain’t complaining.but u are.seriouse Larry.i have seen lots of ur articles.wewe hufai kuvaa men’s clothes u need to dress like a woman.unaudaku saana.
Patrick Ndibui Muchi: We are busy fighting our people and abusing them.what is in a tribe?look at my county now,she was a youth over 30 yrs…hii nchi iuzwe tugawane…
MezaMwanza Jane: Since l was born everyone used to tell me study hard you are the next leader of tomorrow, when is this tomorrow?
Cedric Guya: Central Kenya is Full of Fools to allow such appointments. Other Counties are appointing Youths. They are appointing Grandmothers. MEDIOCRE
James Mwangi: The problem with Kenyans is ignorant and being psychopath to tribal gods,its ironical a 65 representing the youth, people will wakeup to realise their problems was politician whom they ran to for solutions,Shes a youth anyway cos 80yrs beth mugo also was nominated to represents toddlers in the senate,help us God
Ronny Mwirigi Karani: Who said minister of youth should should be a youth??……this is just like saying minister of agriculture should be a cow…..Or the children department should be headed by children..
Ladyboss Lynn: Good for her,, all Nyeri youths are lost in drinking from dawn to dusk, they are never sober to lead even a ward leave alone a county.
Heim Kuria: And when a section of the Youths from Nyeri rise to challenge this, some psycophants of the current political regime are up in arms defending her. Its a Youths Ministry come on people!
Jay Felix: With the likes of babu owino and jaguar setting bad example for youth, I think we need more of these shoshos around to mentor them. Actually every county should have at least one shosh, and maybe every party nominate one in parliament!
Pamela Kinyua: Hahahahaha,,, is it the same place a nominated MCA was walked out due to dressing code?? Isorait!!! Alafu niskie MTU akisema hapa ati Rao should retire!!! See your lives!!
Nandwa Thee IceArk Kenya: Ati Minister for youth yet she is too old to be Ministser for aged people,anyway if Robert Mugabe can be ambassador of goodwill then minister for youth its possible but only in Africa
Kariuki Jayn:Am from Nyeri County and am against this even though walitupilia mbali the Youths Petition ya kunyang’anya huyu shush hicho kiti..Isorait 2022 haiko mbali saaana..
Gunia Ya Minji: Halafu u find youths shouting “Uhuru tano tena” my friends, when will u start applying ua skills if grandmas are taking leadership roles? Mtscheeeeeeew! No reforms no elections!!! #feelingspeleka #nyeri
Pita Kinya: on behalf of Mt Kenya community, we know you love us so much to have dashed us a whole youthful minister like her, but thank you for your kind heart… We have Nairobi business community to deal with, we can’t accept anymore addition.. We kindly give him to our Masai family for free. We will add money on top if its allowed??
Elizabeth Auleria: maybe shes a youth at heart….. btw was that nominated mca badly dressed???? just because she was in a sleeveless blouse,atleast i now know arms have thighs n its bad manners to show the thighs of the arms???NYIRI people iko chida??
Michael Thorne: She should have been the Minister for Culture, Social Services, County Heritage, Women, yaani like Nyiva Mwendwa wakati wa Moi
Terry Wanjala Kemboi: The work of the youths is to fight and protect their “leaders” just like they are planning to do on 26th by voting and others will be throwing stones but they will never be appointed to such positions…its a big shame
Wangechi Mwangi: Maybe we would have nothing to learn from our fellow youth who are busy spreading hate on social media let the mature ones lead us. Am just wondering if Larry you were to get that docket what we would learn from you except for inciting people on social media.
Peter Macharia: Hii ni kucheswa…. someone confirm that it is true,,,i will become vocal on this as a youth from nyeri,,,we dont want to be leaders of tommorow ,,today is our day…
Jayne Mwakiri: Thot vijana are the leaders of tomorrow so wen will the tomorrow come if at 65 bado ni leaders what sport can she actually do??
Sylvia Kade: I think in this jubilee government we have seen all sorts of wonder. If they still want to rule,let the world just end… If there is no trumpet for angel Gabriel to blow,we can use vuvuzela
Francis Munene: Seriously..hapa youths mtalia.. Remember Sally Sambili in sports. She made one of the most stupid decisions about Nyayo stadium.
Erustus Githinji: My brother Pole Sana Nyeri County has no youths ….no has no youths who can take up such a job….despite the docket being preserved for the youth…. The best they could give was a 65 years old granny.
Kazi ya youths huku ni kupiga kura and joining the NYS cohorts in the Kazi kwa vijana shovel and slasher workstations….
Maze Mazilu: She is young at heart, don’t look at the physical and make judgment if anything she can put some sense kwa vijana wa nyeri, who knows maybe she is a vergin…
Every time you see Larry Madowo on plane flying all over the world most of us think he’s on a break from work but apparently the NTV journalist has deadlines to meet every week regardless of where he’s in the world or what he’s doing.
Larry, who is currently on a two week visit of America, has opened up about his how he has to struggle with different timezone in the world while working on his opinion pieces which are published on Daily Nation every week on Wednesday.
The Nation columnist says he has to written the articles every week even if he’s on ‘holiday’ as the editor expects him to file his written pieces by Monday.
“Most of you don’t know this but I write a weekly column called #FrontRow in the @dailynation every Wednesday. It’s been published for just over 3 years continuously now but you don’t know this because all you read is Facebook. It takes a lot of discipline to file every week, regardless of where I am in the world or what I’m doing. My deadline is Monday morning so I always make sure I have submitted before I sleep on Sunday night. Sometimes, the timezone makes it even harder. I’m in Texas right now and Nairobi is 8 hours ahead of me. It’s about 12.23am now but it’s early morning in Nairobi so my editor is probably refreshing her email and getting upset about why I’m late,” wrote Larry in part.
Larry further revealed that some of the most read pieces he has ever written he drafted them while he was tired and worried whether they made any sense.
“I’ve written in too many countries to count and on even more cross-continental flights. Some of my most read pieces were written when I was really tired, worried that I made no sense and sounded barely coherent. It’s a labour of love, writing nearly 1200 words every week and seeing them end up on a dead tree a few days later. There are those who think my life is easy and glamorous but they don’t see the sacrifices I make, or the hard work I put in when all around me are asleep. My advice to younger folks is always: find something you love and convince someone to pay you to do it. I took this as a personal challenge and even I am surprised I’m still at it #wanderlust #goeverywhere #doeverything #writeeverywhere”
Larry Madowo is the most traveled journalist in Kenya, he boasts of hosting international conferences and rubbing shoulders with global influencers.
The NTV anchor has shared stage with presidents, billionaires and geniuses while hosting or attending international conference.
Larry will be in the same room with Former President Barack Obama and Bill Gates at the inaugural Goalkeepers Event on September 20th in New York City.
The event is organized to celebrate progress toward eliminating disease and poverty around the world, and to inspire a new generation of advocates to work on behalf of these causes.
Madowo made the announcement about his trip to US explaining that his aim was to demonstrate that if a nobody like him could end up in those exciting places with such extraordinary people, so can anyone.
“I’ll be away from this set for the next fortnight travelling across the United States. From tomorrow, I’ll be in New York City at an event by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called Goalkeepers. President Obama is among the speakers and some of the world’s most accomplished people will be there too. I’ll be taking some time off after that visiting family and friends and generally staying away from Kenyan news. I’ve realized that a lot of you wonder why I travel so much so I’ll be sharing a bit more information about where I am, what I’m doing and who I’m with. This intention is not to brag but to demonstrate if a nobody like me can end up in these exciting places with such extraordinary people, so can you. I’ll have a bit more to write while on the road. I’m afraid I can’t read through the comments but I try to dive into my inbox every so often (?@festolang)” wrote Larry.
Larry Madowo’s photo with a statue of a bronze cow has gone viral thanks to Kenyans on Twitter who trolled him after he captioned the photo with words that were used to mock him instead.
Larry, who has a knack for posting photos of his adventures abroad, was on the receiving end after he shared a photo of him in China chilling with a statue of a cow that was reading a book.
“Ukipeleka ng’ombe shule,” Larry Madowo tweeted.
Larry’s boss Linus Kaikai replied to Madowo’s tweet with a satirical tweet saying the NTV anchor was also a cow.
“Halafu zikutane China?” Kaikai tweeted.
Things got even more exciting when Kenyans on Twitter joined the conversation and mocked Larry even more:
NTV news anchor Larry Madowo is among the celebrities we know nothing about his personal life. Unlike most celebrities who like to flaunt their spouses on social media, the news anchor prefers to keep his private life (including the person he is dating) off his social media pages.
But he enjoys sharing photos of himself touring different parts of the world however we never get to see the person taking the photos.
In a new photo shared on his Facebook page, the fella is seen enjoying a private jet and from the empty seats…l bet he was rolling like a boss that particular day. He captioned the photo;
Can I call it a private jet if I’m the only one in the upper deck of an A380? #bowwowchallenge
But one lady by the name of Essy Omullo could not let Larry Madowo enjoy his moments as she went ahead to remind him that instead of taking photos on planes…he should be hanging-out with his wife and kids like his age mates. He wrote saying;
Shinda ukipiga picha kwa ndege and your age mates are married with kids…na kichwa Kama ya chebukati
Journalists from all media houses in Kenya are working extra hours to cover 2017 election as results continue tricking in from all over the country.
News anchors are spending more time at TV studios while reporters are on the ground to report any development. Some journalists are spending the night at station just covering election news.
Larry Madowo and Smriti Vidyarthi at NTV studio
NTV has paired Larry Madowo and Smriti Vidyarthi to cover election news. The duo caused tongues to wag when they ‘behind the scene’ photos taken at NTV studio. In the photos, Larry and Smriti depict signs of exhaustion and fatigue.
Larry Madowo and Smriti Vidyarthi relax at NTV studio
The two NTV anchors are seen seated at the studio with Larry drinking a cup of tea/coffee while fatigue passed time scrolling through her phone.
“How @smriti_vidyarthi and I are surviving these extraordinary times,” Larry Madowo captioned one of the photos.
Journalists will continue working for extra hours until IEBC announces the final results of all elective positions that were contested for by politicians in 2017 general election.
Citizen TV’s Willis Raburu has been tipped as Larry Madowo’s likely replacement, word in the street has it that Raburu resigned from Citizen TV two weeks ago so that he could join NTV as the Trend host.
Raburu used to host The Trend’s replica – 10 Over 10 alongside Joey Muthengi. The Citizen TV show ran concurrently with the NTV show.
Willis Raburu has however remain mum about claims that he’s will fill Larry Madowo’s shoes. Meanwhile Njambi Koikai continues to host the Trend until the new host officially takes over.
Larry Madowo will be on your screens for a longer time starting this Wednesday. The NTV journalist has directed his energy to a new show after he quit the Trend.
Nation Media has indeed acknowledged that Larry Madowo has the Midas touch, the extra airtime they gave Larry proves this assumption.
Larry Madowo took over the Trend in December 2012 and made it to be the dopest and most watched entertainment show in Kenya. Larry however quit the Trend a fortnight ago and now it’s clear what plans his bosses had for him.
Apparently Nation media honchos want Larry to work his magic on the relatively new political show Sidebar. Larry has been given extra airtime to inject life into Sidebar – just like he was given extra airtime when ratings for The Trend skyrocketed.
“Starting tonight and every Wednesday on @ntvkenya, our show #Sidebar gains an extra hour at 10pm. So we’re on at 8pm & 10pm because there’s lots to cover in these extraordinary times and we want to get through all of it. Tonight, Senator Joy Gwendo & MP Junet Mohammed will join me at 8pm. At 10pm, I’ve got Senators Mutula Kilonzo Junior & Kipchumba Murkomen. Let’s do this, shall we?” Larry Madowo announced.
Larry Madowo’s post on social media didn’t go down well with Dr. Ekuru Aukot who is seeking the presidency in August 8th General Elections.
The NTV journalist took to Twitter and Facebook to post photos of Aukot addressing a small gathering in Naivaisha with the caption reading; “Presidential candidate Dr Ekuru Aukot addresses a mammoth crowd in Naivasha in his first public rally”.
Larry’s ‘controversial’ post rubbed Aukot the wrong way and he decided to fire salvos at the NTV journalist on Twitter.
Dr. Ekuru Aukot
Larry however made it clear that he wouldn’t be intimidated by a presidential candidate who approval rating was ‘microscopic’.
Larry Madowo held his last show on the Trend on Friday June 30th 2017. It was the longest show ever as it aired until 1.32am, July 1st.
Larry’s ‘goodbye’ show on the Trend was a show like no other, he hosted the likes of Jidenna, Janet Mbugua, Sauti Sol, Bebe Cool, Nameless, Edith Kimani, Boniface Mwangi, Willy Paul, Muthoni Drummer Queen etc on a single night.
In his parting shot, Larry revealed 5 things about Trend and himself:
He joined the Trend by accident
“After James Smart left, Smriti Vidyarthi was doing the show and when I rejoined NTV in December 2012 – what I like to call my second coming, Smriti was away one week and I was as yet anchoring the news, I was not on a regular schedule. So I offered to do the show that one time and she never took the show back because she didn’t doing it because at the time the Trend was a political and current affairs show,” Larry said.
The Trend was shaped by Larry’s personality and the audience’s feedback
“It (the Trend) was shaped by my personality and interest of the team as it was influenced by so many of you who watched and reached out to us with your comments, ideas and criticisms – they made the show better.”
Larry’s bosses don’t watch the Trend
“We never took ourselves seriously obviously… and I have always said that we are only on air because our bosses don’t watch, none of them are watching the show because they are all asleep at this time. And because of that we failed upwards and gave us an extra hour at 8pm to showcase more of our nonsense.”
Larry was totally shocked when the Trend became most watched entertainment show in Kenya
“I only moved to Nairobi permanently in 2004, so it was a total shock to me that I occupied this place in the culture where I could be a taste maker and super fan of all the guest we’ve welcomed here.”
The Trend is the greatest success for Larry Madowo
“I used to worry if I was cool enough, if people would ever accept me, if they would learn to pronounce my sir name right and would I ever amount to anything. And yet this is far greater than anything I could have imagined. It was all because of you the viewers who have made this undertaking worthwhile. I assembled possibly the youngest and hungriest team on television and they turned this into magic.”
Victor Wanyama had a street named after him in Dar es Salaam for a few hours before the road sign bearing his named was pulled down.
Local Tanzanian authority honored Wanyama by naming a street after him when the Harambee Star captain attended a football tournament in Dar as the guest of honor.
Ubungo Municipality however reversed the decision to name a street after Wanyama explaining that procedure was not followed in the process.
In his column on Daily Nation, Larry Madowo downplayed the decision by local authorities in Tanzania to pull down ‘Victor Wanyama Street’ arguing that the Kenyan government ought to be the one honoring Wanyama.
“On Sunday, the road sign was removed because the right procedure was allegedly not followed. That is surprising because a citation accompanying the naming of the road was signed by two senior officials of Ubungo Municipality, Aman Sizya and Yahaya Rashidi. Either way, the irony was not lost on anybody that Tanzania was honouring a Kenyan superstar before his home country had done anything,” Larry wrote in part.
Larry stated that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder had done a lot for the community that raised him but local authorities hasn’t recognized his input.
“As I have said before in this column, Wanyama is one of the hardest working and driven people I have ever met. He is also a passionate supporter of football talent and has done a lot for the community that raised him. He is exactly the kind of man to spend his birthday playing and sharing a meal with disadvantaged children at the Thunder Football Academy in Kawangware.”
Friday June 30th will be Larry Madowo’s last show on The Trend. The NTV anchor announced his departure four days ago.
Larry Madowo took a swipe at other TV stations that copied the Trend, he said replication of the Trend was among the things that compelled him to quit and come up with something better.
“If you look at Friday night television in Kenya now, everybody is trying to do what I have done. Yes I said it, everybody is trying to do what Larry Madowo has done…they are copying the Trend, everybody and every channel. I think I can’t compete with my students anymore, people are trying to be me so it’s time for me to move on. That’s the simple reason,” Larry Madowo ranted.
Eric Njoka hosted Sharon Mundia and social media bigwig Xtian Dela when K24’s ‘Talk Central’ debuted in 2015
Sometimes in June 2015, Larry expressed his frustrations with K24 after the station came up with their own versions of the Trend dubbed ‘Talk Central’.
On his Daily Nation FrontRow column titled ‘Monkey see, monkey do: Kenyan copycats killed creative industry’, Larry put K24 on the spot for openly copying the Trend.
But it’s perhaps the launch of Citizen TV’s version of the Trend that hammered the final nail in Larry Madowo’s coffin. Citizen TV’s 10 Over 10 did not only copy the Trend but also runs on the same time slot with the Trend, giving the NTV show direct competition.
“It’s good to be able to leave something, especially something that you love and going to do something else…and for me am grateful that I had this chance to be a part of something that is great, I have worked with the best team in television… they are young talented guys and it has been a privilege and an honor to present their work because truly these guys that you’ve never met they are credit to this profession, they are truly the best that you could ever find in this business. And that’s why the work that we do here is copied by everyone else. I have said this before, Kenya’s TV idea of innovation is monkey see monkey do, we do something successful everybody else tries to do it. So am done trying to give people ideas, am gonna try maybe on different night of television maybe do something different so other people can copy it,” Larry Madowo said on The Trend on Friday June 23rd.
Citizen TV’s 10 Over 10 hosted by Willis Raburu and Joey Muthengi copied the Trend’s same central idea and also runs on the same time slot with the Trend
Apart from other Kenyan TV stations copying the Trend, Larry Madowo also cited his frequent trips abroad as the reason why he opted to quit the Trend.
“If you have watched the show you have noticed that I have been away a lot. Am travelling more and more now and I have felt that I wasn’t giving the show 100%. So it was time to step away so somebody else could have that chance, right? I think that’s great and whoever it is that’s going to take over the show I can assure you there gonna be great, they will be tremendous,” said Larry Madowo.
Watch Larry explain why he left the Trend in the video below:
Larry Madowo took over the Trend in December 2012 and made it one of the biggest television shows in Kenya. His sudden exit from the Trend has left many people completely shocked.
The Trend was the brainchild of James Smart, the TV show went on air for the first time in June 2012. The idea then was to indulge young audience without trivializing matters with issues that mattered the most, matters of governance, public, politics and the future.
When Larry Madowo took over in December 2012, he changed the Trend to focus on matters showbiz making it the most viewed entertainment show in the country.
Larry’s exit from the Trend was unimaginable as long as he was still an employee of Nation Media Group (NMG). But the popular journalist has quit the Trend anyway.
Larry took to social media to announce his exit, he said that he informed his team (the Trend crew) about his decision to leave weeks ago.
“A few weeks ago, I informed the team that I had decided to leave @theTrendLive. It’s been a great run but it’s time to move on. More details on tonight’s show” wrote Larry Madowo.
His announcement has sparked anxiety as people wait for him to reveal why he decided to quit and what his next move is.
Larry Madowo and Ciru Muriuki have been said to be secretly dating even though no one has ever proved it. Ciru has now put the whole matter to rest.
Ciku Muriuki and Larry Madowo’s chemistry on the screen has been mistaken by many people for a romantic relationship.
The Trend panelist caused a stir when she was seen kissing and cuddling amorously with a man whose face wasn’t clearly seen in a photo she uploaded online.
Ciru Muriuki cuddling with her ‘anonymous’ boyfriend
Rumormongers quickly suggested that the mysterious person who was cozying up with Ciru was none other than NTV anchor – Larry Madowo.
Ciru had enough of the gossips and misinformation and she decided to act. She went on and unmasked her sweetheart for the whole world to see.
Ciru Muriuki was forced to unmask her sweetheart just to prove he wasn’t Larry Madowo
“OK guys. Everyone chill. This here is bae..who looks NOTHING like Larry Madowo . Now can we all just calm down?” Ciru Muriuki posted.
Now that Ciru’s boyfriend is not Larry Madowo, who is Larry dating?
NTV anchor Larry Madowo had a chilling encounter at Radisson Blu Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda after a stalker slipped past tight security to cause havoc at his hotel room.
A man only known as Nick has been arrested after he tried knocking down hotel’s door just to get into a room that Larry Madowo was sleeping in.
The NTV anchor, who was in Kigali last week for business, booked a room at the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel where he spent his nights for the time he was in Kigali.
Larry Madowo, Bonney Tunya and colleagues enjoying nice time in Kigali
Apparently Larry’s stalker knew exactly what room he was sleeping in, he called him past 2am before he started knocking on his door asking him to let him in.
“He spoke with the confidence of someone who knew me rather well and if it was odd that he was calling me past 2am, it didn’t register in his tone. About 10 minutes later, there was a knock on my door. Instead of just knocking repeatedly while calling my name at intervals, he was commentating through the whole thing.
“His accent said he was Kenyan and the fact that he was truly outside my door implied that he was probably crazy. How did this mysterious character pass two access-controlled doors that required a card to open and end up within, right outside my room?” Larry Madowo wrote in part on his column on Daily Nation.
Larry explains that the man’s persistent knocks on his door scared the living daylights out of him, worst still he tried contacting security and the number wasn’t going through.
“I just want to talk to you, for like 10 minutes,” the strange man called from outside. Then he tried to force open the door and I started to panic. I have watched horror movies so I know how this story goes. It grew into full-blown terror when I tried to call the front desk and the phone line was down. I kid you not, all the hotel’s numbers had that busy tone you hear when your connection has been cut off. The man was still trying to open the door but now I could not reach the hotel’s security team.
“The world’s most persistent man kept going, insisting he wanted to talk to me about something or the other. It was richly ironic that I was staying in Rwanda’s most protected hotel that week and here I was, fearing for my life,” wrote Larry.
Help finally came before the stalker bulldozed himself into Larry’s room, hotel security handed him over to Rwanda police who are carrying out investigations to establish the man’s motive.
Respect! Larry Madowo has never been this angry, the Jang’o in him came out yesterday when a certain Eusebias Makunda tried his patience.
Quite so often Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) will piss off Larry Madowo and get away with it, but not yesterday April 24th 2017.
The NTV news anchor yesterday replaced his cool persona with something that is stereotypical of all Jang’os – rudeness and pride.
Larry took to Twitter to warn Kenyans about Safaricom’s nationwide outage on voice, data and M-PESA services that caused major disruptions on telecommunication.
A certain Eusebias Makunda taunted Larry saying that news stations hadn’t reported about the outage because they substituted everything with politics.
Larry lost his cool and replied to Makunda with a message that served him well according to his level of thinking.
“Unaona nikiuza nyanya hapa NTV?” Larry tweeted in response to Makunda’s earlier tweet.
Madowo’s hilarious tweet sparked a chain reaction, Kenyans on Twitter bowed down to him with some asking where he had tossed his chills.
The six top female aspirants for Nairobi Women Representative seat were last night interviewed by Larry Madowo on NTV.
Esther Passaris, Millicent Omanga, Karen Nyamu, Wangui Nganga and Rachael Shebesh were yesterday given the platform by NTV to tell sell their agendas to Nairobians but instead they ended up causing drama.
The six hopefuls openly attacked each other – Wangui Nganga accused Shebesh of mishandling the Kidero incident. She said Shebesh disappeared from the public arena ever since she was slapped by the Nairobi governor.
Their angry arguments left Kenyans cursing, most people wondered why there were no other ‘alternative’ candidates to vie for the Nairobi Women Rep seat.
Popular actress Naomi Nganga said the six female aspirants were a disappointment, and fellow women couldn’t agree more with her.
Good boy gone bad, Larry was left scratching his head in disbelief after gospel singer Bahati walked out of an interview he had with him.
The incident didn’t happen in the real world but in Bahati and Rayvanny’s new video which the NTV anchor was featured in as a video vixen.
“’Nataka nitoke kwenye gazeti, niuze sura!’ Wakati Rayvanny aliponitembelea. Muda mfupi baadaye, nimegeuka nikawa video vixen kwenye wimbo wake mpya na Bahati,” Larry Madowo captioned a photo he posed with Rayvanny.
Larry Madowo and Rayvanny
Bahati and Rayvanny collaborated to drop a new song dubbed ‘Nikumbushe’. The video was uploaded on YouTube on April 4th.
The theme of the song is good boys gone bad because of fame – Bahati and Rayvanny develop unrealistic sense of superiority and are unbothered by their insensitive actions.
Bahati walks out of a TV interview with Larry Madowo while Rayvanny gives his fans a cold shoulder when they mobbed him.
Larry Madowo has revealed intimate details about former NTV presenter Janet Kanini who passed away on April 1st after a long battle with cancer.
Even though Larry is employed by Nation Media Group, the Daily Nation columnist decided to write for a rival newspaper – the Standard to eulogize Janet Kanini.
Larry says the Standard approached him to write a tribute to Janet Kanini and he couldn’t turn them down despite the newspaper being direct competitor to Daily Nation.
“The Standard on Sunday asked me to write a tribute to Janet Kanini-Ikua and they were kind enough to publish it. I don’t care that they’re the competition, I was honoured to write about her,” Larry Madowo revealed.
In his tribute on the Standard, Larry revealed Kanini’s mother received the disturbing news about her daughter’s death while she was travelling.
“Dr Margaret Muiva was on her way back to Nairobi when someone called to condole with her about the death of her daughter. It should have been a cruel April Fools’ Day prank but it wasn’t. My friend Janet Kanini-Ikua, 39, signed off from the world for the last time yesterday morning. She is survived by her husband George and her two children Pedro, 6, and Jasmine, 4,” Larry wrote.
The NTV news anchor revealed Janet was his close friend; Larry said he visited the deceased in hospital before she was first diagnosed with lung cancer.
“When I went to see her in a routine hospital visit before that diagnosis, she was holding court even in her bed, joking and keeping everyone at ease to cover for the awkward silences.”
