Image: COURTESY
Former Citizen TV presenter Salim Swaleh is trending at the moment. But who is the man who currently works at the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, overseen by Mr. Musalia Mudavadi, as the Director of the Press Service?
Let's take a look below:
Background and Education
Salim Swaleh was born in Bondeni, Nakuru County. His late father and mother hailed from Bondeni and Gilgil, respectively.
His father had three wives, and Salim's mother had two children, Salim and his sister.
Salim attended Bondeni Primary School up to class four but had to drop out due to financial constraints.
He then moved to Gilgil to live with his grandmother, where he learned to make and sell various dishes.
Later, he returned to Nakuru to live with his mother and step-father, re-enrolling in school and skipping directly to Grade 7.
After completing his KCPE, he scored 365 marks and was admitted to Menengai High School.
His passion for journalism grew when he got the opportunity to work with KBC E-learning while still at Menengai.
Salim scored a C+ in his KCSE and worked as an untrained primary school teacher in Eldoret while waiting for college admission.
He eventually enrolled for a degree in Mass Communication while working in Iran.
Career
After college, Salim worked at Ghetto Radio without pay before landing his first paid journalism job at Sauti ya Mwananchi in Nakuru, earning KSh 8,000 monthly.
While at the station, he traveled to Iran to further his media career. Upon his return to Kenya, he joined Citizen TV in 2016, where he excelled for two years before moving to NTV.
At NTV, he became an editor and news anchor for the 7 pm Swahili news.
After leaving NTV, he secured a position as the Director of OPCS Press Service under the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.
Family
Salim is married to Sherry, and the couple has children. He met and married Sherry while working for Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Marrying an Iranian woman was not an option for Salim due to cultural differences and the high dowry paid in gold.
Instead, he returned to Kenya, married Sherry, and then settled in Iran, where two of their children were born before moving back to Kenya.
