Mbaruk Mwalimu’s Journey from a Coconut Seller to a renowned Media Personality

Mbaruk Mwalimu, aka Wazzah, is an accomplished Media practitioner.

He currently co-hosts the Maskani 47 show on Radio 47 alongside Billy Miya.

They are loved for their informative and entertaining show, especially the controversial Umbeya segment.

But did you know that Mbaruk was a coconut vendor before embarking on his successful media career..?

He was born on 5th December 1985 in Kwale county. The celebrated radio host hails from the Digo sub-tribe of the Mijikenda community.

Before embarking on his illustrious media career, Mbaruk did odd menial jobs to survive.

He started by selling vegetables at Diani before becoming a coconut  vendor in Pemba, Tanzania.

“I used to travel for five hours from Shimoni to Pemba to sell coconuts. A coconut there is a hotcake,” he  disclosed.

Apparently, he would gather the nuts for several months from Shimoni, Hamisi, Bodo, and other Kenyan coastal towns.

He would purchase a coconut at sh 15. In Pemba, he would sell the nuts for between sh 60 and sh 100.

In one trade, he would sell 12 sacks of nuts, making between Ksh 250 000 and Ksh 300 000 in profits.

Mbaruk Mwalimu Career

Away from his bravado on radio, Mbaruk considers himself a very shy guy in real life.

For that reason, he says he is more comfortable as a radio presenter than he would be as a TV personality.

“Radio is fun. It is a lifestyle. You can say whatever you want. You can wear anything and be anything, unlike on TV where you are given a specific character,” he once said in an interview.

His media career started as an intern at one of Royal Media’s TV stations while he was a student at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.

After his internship, Mbaruk was hired at Mombasa-based Baraka FM as the voice of the station before being promoted to producer.

After a while, he was promoted to host a breakfast show alongside current Radio 47 colleague Bily Miya.