In October 2023, President William Ruto appointed Mwanaisha Chidzuga as a Deputy Government Spokesperson to work alongside former Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura.
Chidzuga was appointed to the role alongside Gabriel Muthuma during a major government reshuffle that saw changes affecting cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries, and ambassadors.
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At the time of her appointment, the deputy government spokesperson was a Swahili news anchor at Cape Media’s TV 47.
In her new role, she was tasked with supporting Isaac Mwaura in communicating government policies and initiatives to the public through various media platforms, among other duties.
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Mwanaisha, in a past interview with Radio 47, revealed that she was born and raised in Matuga Sub-County in Kwale County.
She attended Ziwani Primary School and later joined The Kenya High School after excelling in her primary education.
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Mwanaisha Chidzuga career in media
Her media career began at Pwani FM, where she landed her first on-air job as a radio presenter and DJ at the age of 18.
The journalist had just completed high school and happened to attend an interview at the newly launched station, which was recruiting journalists after its establishment in 2001.
Two years later, she joined the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), where she worked with renowned journalists including the late Leonard Mambo Mbotela between 2003 and 2005.
Chidzuga’s transition to television came after she received a call from then Kenya Television Network (KTN)-executive and future Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney.
In the early morning call, then radio anchor revealed that Karoney asked her to come in for an interview immediately.
That marked her entry into the world of TV journalism—a whole new chapter where she had to start learning afresh.
Mwanaisha went on to work at KTN, and later held roles at other media outlets, including the BBC, before returning to KTN.
However, in 2016, she was dismissed from the Standard Group-owned station minutes before going live with a new show Maisha na Isha, as part of a restructuring exercise by the company.
Shortly after, Chidzuga joined K24 TV, where she anchored the Swahili news bulletin alongside Ahmed Bhalo.
She was later laid off in 2019 during a redundancy exercise by Mediamax.
Politics, education and family
Following her exit from the newsroom, the journalist ventured into private business, managing a restaurant and founding a digital media company, Dada2Dada Uncensored.
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In September 2021, she entered politics and vied for the Matuga Parliamentary seat in the 2022 general elections on a UDA Party ticket.
Although she did not win after coming in second in the election, she returned to broadcasting as a host of the Mchikicho show on Radio 47, airing from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This stint preceded her appointment by President Ruto to serve as a Deputy Government Spokesperson.
Chidzuga who is also a communications strategist holds a degree in Public Relations from Moi University.
In an earlier interview, she revealed that she has been married to Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana for over 20 years, and together they have four children.
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