Four months after talented presenter Remy Majala left Switch TV over reported frustration, the media house has suffered a fresh blow after prime time news anchor Leah Ngari quit in what insiders say could be for the same reasons.
Sources at the media house have told Business Today that the presenter left Switch TV this week after becoming increasingly frustrated with head of content Tamima Ibrahim’s management style which has rubbed most employees the wrong way.
She allegedly seeks to micromanage everything in the newsroom especially after the departure of Emmanuel Juma, who rejoined NTV.
Speaking to Business Today, Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) Secretary Erick Oduor said that he is aware of Ms Ngari’s frustrations. It is not clear whether the union is in a position to involve itself in the matter since it has not signed a recognition agreement with the Kenya Red Cross Society-owned media house like it has with most mainstream media houses in the country.
The new revelations are likely to put Tamima, a talk show host herself, on the spot once again after Business Today in May exclusively reported that her management style was the major contributing factor in Majala’s decision to leave Switch TV.
Besides Majala and Ngari, popular presenter Grace Msalame who hosts Unscripted with Grace, a talk show on NTV, never joined Switch TV despite featuring prominently in promos when the TV station was launching last year.
Another source said that despite couching itself as the go to TV channel for the youth during its launch, Switch TV is struggling to pay salaries.
In May, Business Today reported that as head of content at her former employer, Ebru TV faced high staff turnover due to Ms Tamima’s poor relationship with employees.
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“Her tenure at Ebru TV where she was the Channel Operations Manager was also marked by a high staff turnover,” another source told Business Today. Before joining Ebru, Tamima hosted the ‘Str8 Up’ show at KTN.
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