Entertainment and Arts Journalists Association of Kenya (EAJAK) members have elected a fresh crop of leaders to steer the association for the next three years. The leaders were elected following an Annual General Meeting held in Nairobi on Saturday the 21st of January 2023 at the Kenya Cultural Centre.
Scribe and content creator Boniface Mwalii was elected Chairman unopposed while Josephine Mosongo landed the Deputy Chairperson’s position after a run-off occasioned by a tie which saw Josephine and Standard Group’s Geoffrey Korio share 50% of the votes each. Mosongo won with 54% of the total votes in the run-off.
Self proclaimed king of paps and Standard Group’s Entertainment Editor Stevens Muendo floored Buzz Central’s Cheptoek Boyo to clinch the Secretary General’s slot with 68.4% of the votes cast in his favour.
Rival Media Group’s Editorial Director Kevin Mogallo was elected the association’s Coordinator and Executive Director garnering 78.9% of the votes against Thorn Mulli’s 21.1% while Nation Media Group’s Sylvania Ambani clinched the Deputy Executive Director’s slot with 73.7% against Willis Awandu’s 26.3%.
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Kenya Broadcasting Corporation’s Decker Ogada was elected treasurer garnering 76.3% of the votes. Her competitor Rose Kwamboka managed 23.7% of the votes. Poet and author Tony Mochama was elected EAJAK secretary unopposed while the position of Events and Activities Liaison Officer was uncontested after the election committee disqualified Solomon Koko for not registering as a voter. The slot was bagged by Mediamax Networks’ Manuel Ntoyai.
The elections were held virtually via Google Forms setting the pace for digital voting. Chaired by Grace Kerongo, the election committee comprising of George Orido, Betty Githinji, Laura Walubengo, James Murua and Sinda Matiko as commissioners was lauded by members for holding a transparent, efficient, verifiable election.
‘Congratulations to all the elected officials! Today, I am proud to say that we have held our first election, it is however not just an election, but a digital election, a reflection of the current media space and how digital is key in shaping the world we live in. To top that off, we have used open source applications to carry out our elections, truly embracing the digital era,’
said outgoing chairperson Grace Kerongo
Speaking at the event, outgoing Deputy Chairperson George Orido urged the incoming leadership to set the stage as the go-to association for anything art, culture, entertainment and lifestyle.
‘I have confidence in the abilities of the incoming team, let us all support them and ensure the association grows to even greater heights,’
added Mr. Orido.
Speaking at the event, the elected leaders led by Boniface Mwalii thanked members for their support in the electoral process.
We have had a lot of consultations with the outgoing leadership and I am confident that the incoming team will champion the best interests of our professional practice. Currently, the media industry is undergoing a lot of structural and operational changes and as a top priority, we shall be engaging various stakeholders across the sector to implement programmes that will deliver wholesome growth for arts, culture, lifestyle and entertainment within the expanding digital space,’
Mwalii said.
This election and Annual General Meeting marked the associations first since its formation in 2015 and official registration in the year 2019.
‘I would like to express my gratitude to all members for entrusting me with the leadership of this association, it has been an honor to serve, I am confident that the future of EAJAK is in great hands,’
concluded the outgoing chairperson.
