Milele FM presenter Alex Mwakideu has opened up about a silly mistake he did that made his journalism career hang on a thread.
Speaking during an interview with Kiss FM’s Obinna, Mwakideu confessed that he used to be a lousy drunk and his love for booze nearly ruined his career.
He narrated how alcohol nearly ruined an opportunity to travel to Germany through his then-boss for an internship programme which had everything paid for.
“I got to Nairobi early and my flight was at night, and I had some money so I was wondering what to do with it. So I called my friend Chiko Lawi and told him I am in Nairobi and he came with some friends to the airport,” Mwakideu said.
The Milele FM presenter said he went to a pub with his friends and drank the whole afternoon, it only hit him that he was travelling when it was 30 minutes to departure time.
“I was high, and running with my big bag since I was going for six months, and when I got there, everything had closed and they refused to let me pass,” he added.
Mwakideu was stopped from boarding the plane by police officers who saw how drunk he was. They told him to go home and travel the next day.
“There was no way I would have gone back home. What would I have told my boss? And there were also people waiting for me on the other side in Germany. So I begged those people. I told them I knew I had messed up but if I don’t get on that flight, my career would have been finished.”
Mwakideu was ultimately forced to bribe a police boss at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to be allowed to board the plane to Germany in his drunken stupor.
He ultimately quit drinking altogether after the incident at JKIA.
“The boss came, saw me and asked me if there was anything I had remained with and I only had Sh2,000. I gave him and he allowed me to go and board the plane, five minutes before it left. And that’s one of the reasons I stopped drinking.”
