- Veteran broadcaster Fred Obachi Machoka is set to retire after 50 years in broadcasting.
- His retirement celebration will be held on October 10, 2026, at Ulinzi Sports Complex.
- Machoka began his broadcasting career at Voice of Kenya in the 1970s.
- He later became a familiar voice on Radio Citizen through the popular Roga Roga programme.
- He has received national and industry recognition, including the OGW and a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Kenyan broadcasting veteran Fred Obachi Machoka is preparing to step away from the microphone after a career that has lasted half a century.
Machoka will officially mark the end of his long broadcasting journey at a retirement celebration planned for October 10, 2026, at Ulinzi Sports Complex. The event will bring together people from the media, entertainment industry and his long-standing audience.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko announced the planned celebration after Machoka visited him and extended a personal invitation. Sonko described the veteran broadcaster’s career as five decades of informing and entertaining Kenyan audiences.
“My good friend of many years, legendary broadcaster Fred Obachi Machoka, paid me a courtesy call at my office and personally invited me to his retirement celebration,” Sonko said in a statement dated September 21.
Machoka’s route into broadcasting was far from straightforward. Before finding his place behind the microphone, he was a General Service Unit officer and joined the police service in 1972.
He spent roughly four years in the service, including a period in the Northern Frontier. During that time, however, he maintained a strong interest in radio and regularly participated in radio competitions as a listener.
One of those competitions eventually opened the door to a completely different career. Machoka won a SANYO radio competition known as “Sanyo Juu Sanyo Tops” and travelled to Nairobi to collect his prize.
His voice caught the attention of a programme producer, who asked whether he would consider working in radio. Machoka accepted and began recording promotional material for SANYO electronics that was subsequently aired through Voice of Kenya, setting him on a path that would last five decades.
From VOK Programmes to Radio Citizen
At Voice of Kenya, Machoka gradually established himself as a familiar radio and television personality. He became associated with programmes including Seng’enge ni Ng’ombe, Ugua Pole na Lucozade, Sportsman ni Sawa Hasa and Mchanganyiko Maalum na Bitchman.
His broadcasting work was not limited to radio. Machoka also hosted television programmes such as Music Time and Talk of Time, further expanding his presence among Kenyan audiences.
In 1988, he launched FM 35, a broadcasting venture whose name reflected his initials and his age at the time. His career later took another major turn when he joined Royal Media Services’ Radio Citizen in 2002.
It was at Radio Citizen that Machoka became widely associated with Roga Roga, a programme that helped cement his identity as one of Kenya’s most recognisable radio presenters.
Music became an important part of Machoka’s broadcasting identity, particularly African music and Rhumba.
Through Roga Roga, he brought listeners music from different parts of the continent, including popular Rhumba recordings from the 1980s and 1990s. His presentation style, humour and distinctive voice helped make the programme familiar to generations of Kenyan listeners.
Sonko said audiences would miss those qualities once Machoka leaves broadcasting. His retirement therefore marks not only the departure of a veteran presenter but also the closing of a long chapter in Kenyan radio history.
Machoka’s retirement will be marked with a major celebration featuring performances from established African musicians.
The event is expected to include Congolese music stars Koffi Olomide and Mbilia Bel. Cameroonian musician Sam Fan Thomas is also expected to perform during the October 10 celebration.
The gathering will provide an opportunity for Machoka’s colleagues, friends, listeners and entertainment figures to celebrate his contribution to Kenyan broadcasting and African music.
Machoka’s Contribution Earns National Recognition
Machoka’s influence in the media industry has also earned him recognition from the government and professional organisations.
In December 2021, he received the Order of the Grand Warrior, one of Kenya’s national honours, in recognition of his contribution to the country.
Two years later, Machoka was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the Annual Journalism Excellence Awards. The honour recognised a career that had already stretched across several generations of Kenyan media.
The Media Council of Kenya also highlighted his contribution in 2026 when it launched a framework aimed at recognising veteran journalists and broadcasters. MCK Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo said Machoka’s 50th anniversary in broadcasting was among the milestones that formed part of the recognition initiative.
Machoka’s career has followed the transformation of Kenyan broadcasting from the VOK era to the growth of commercial radio and the modern media industry.
His entry into broadcasting came almost by chance after a radio competition, but the opportunity developed into a career lasting 50 years. Along the way, he worked across radio and television, built his own broadcasting venture and became strongly identified with African music.
The October 10 celebration at Ulinzi Sports Complex will formally mark the end of that journey. It will also bring together those who have followed Machoka’s career from his early days at VOK to his later years as the familiar voice of Roga Roga.
After five decades behind the microphone, one of Kenya’s most recognisable broadcasting voices is preparing to sign off.
