How Salim Swaleh beat all odds to become NTV Swahili managing editor

He was born in the 80s, and from a tender age, he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. Salim Swaleh is NTV's Swahili managing editor and among the top Swahili anchors in the country.

In an interview with the Nation, the father of three talks about his childhood, education and journey to the newsroom.

"I was born in the Bondeni slums in Nakuru County and spent my childhood with my parents and maternal grandmother, who lived in Gilgil. My childhood was great even though it was not easy. We lived each day at a time," he said. 

His father died when he was only 11 years old.

He started his education in Gilgil, where he lived briefly with his grandmother before returning to Nakuru to live with his parents.

Due to lack of school fees when he was 11 and in Standard Two in 1995, he dropped out of school and went back to Gilgil.

As fate would have it, after a few years, he got an opportunity to go back to school, only this time, he would not be accepted back to Standard Three, because he was all grown up and tall. He was 16 years old.

"I really wanted to go back to school because everyone around me had not gone to school. So I started selling mandazi and enrolled in an adult school. I attended classes with older people," he said.

"Many said no to me, but the principal of Nakuru Primary School allowed me to join Standard Seven. I was a bright kid, and immediately I started topping the class after my first exams," he said.

He scored 365 out of the possible 500 in his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations and joined Menengai High School in 2002. Four years later, he scored a C+ and secured a college slot to study a diploma course.

Salim started working at Ghetto FM, a community radio station in Majengo, Nairobi, as a volunteer. He would later get his first paid job with Sauti ya Mwananchi, owned by politician and human rights activist Koigi wa Wamwere.

"I am thankful to Koigi for the opportunity he gave me. He gave me the freedom to try everything at the station. I had like five shows per week. It was at Sauti ya Mwananchi that I grew and discovered what I wanted to focus on in the media," he said.

Salim says that one of his most memorable moments in his education journey was in Form Three, when he scored a zero in his mathematics exams.

"Remember I did not attend classes four, five and six where you get to learn a lot of the basics in education, so I always had a problem with maths. So even when the headteacher called me out, I knew where my problem started. Maths and sciences were really hard for me," he added.

He later got an opportunity to work for the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

As he worked, he also completed his degree in broadcast communications and postgraduate programmes including international relations.

But after seven years in Iran, he yearned to return home, and an opportunity presented itself.

Citizen TV had advertised the position of news producer and Swahili editor.

"I flew into the country, did the interview and I got the job. I resigned from the Iranian one and came back home in 2016," Salim said.

His most significant accomplishment, he says, is that he is living his childhood dream of becoming a journalist.

He is working to rise higher on the professional ladder. In the future, he would also love to join politics and vie for an elective seat.

Brought up in the Muslim and Swahili culture, he stayed disciplined, but that did not stop him from being a little cheeky.

"The worst thing I did as a child was to hide a few shillings from mum when she sent me to the shop. I would come up with all sorts of excuses on why I ‘lost’ the few shillings. But this came to an end when she realised I had been lying all along. I got a beating that scared that thought out of my mind (whenever I thought about lying to her again)," he said.

He used the money for his swimming lessons, and he still enjoys taking the plunge and teaches his two daughters to swim.

Salim loves spending time with his family, more so his children, something he did not get to enjoy when he was young. He says he married at a young age and enjoys watching his children grow up.

"I wanted to marry and get a family while still young because my father was old when I was born. By the time he was retiring, I was 11 years old. I don't have many memories of my dad. First, because of the age difference and secondly because of the set-up back then," he added.

Salim revealed that he is afraid of heights but dared to try bungee jumping.

"I am afraid of heights. But while I was working in Kirinyaga during the county edition, I went bungee jumping. I almost backed out, but it was already too late,” he said, laughing. 

“The guy had already pushed me. I think I was unconscious for a few seconds as I was going down. That was a one-off thing; I will never do it again."

When he is having a bad day, Salim likes being alone as it helps him reflect and go back to the drawing board and gauge his progress.

Because of the nature of his work, Salim has travelled around the world, but to him Kenya remains the most beautiful place.

The family man is okay with three children and has had that discussion with his wife.

"I am married, with three children, and the youngest is like three months, a boy. We are done, I have had this discussion with my wife. We are a young family and our children have a five-year spacing between them," he said.

In the years he has been in the media industry, Salim has had veteran journalist Ali Mtenzi hold his hand.

"I go to him even to date for advice, even in my leadership capacity. I have learnt a lot from him," he added.

He says he's his own role model in life, and years after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Salim still has a crush on her.