Shaffie Weru career in media industry began in 1998 when he was hired by Citizen TV as a reporter and producer for Ksh50,000 monthly salary.
In 1998, Ksh50,000 was a great deal of money and Shaffie was among the biggest ballers in the city with his lucrative salary.
Shaffie was a producer but the funny thing was that he didn’t quite have any idea on his job description, he just did whatever anyone asked him to.
He reported on sports and one time when there was nobody to present the sports news so he was put on air only to get so many things wrong.
Shaffie lost his job at Citizen TV when late tyrant President Daniel Arap Moi closed down the station over a dispute with Royal Media Services (RMS) owner S.K. Macharia.
The veteran media personality went back to his mother’s house in South C and sunk into depression, with alcohol being his shoulder to lean on.
At his mother’s house in South C, Shaffie became an alcoholic and also indulged in other substances. He rarely slept in the house as partying overnight took the better of him.
He bought a car using money he had saved while working at Citizen TV. His mother ultimately chased him out of her house in a bid to make him to be responsible. She wondered why Shaffie had a better car than her yet he was not contributing anything in that house.
Even though she kicked him out, Shaffie Weru’s mother called in a favor from Carol Radull who offered her son an internship opportunity at Radio Africa Group which is owned by Ghanaian media tycoon Patrick Quarcoo, popularly known as PQ.
Shaffie worked as an intern for eight months until he was hired as a producer. He then went on to make a name for himself in showbiz, albeit for making negative headlines.
Quarcoo wondered how Shaffie had become a celebrity yet he was not on air. He ultimately gave him his first radio job as a presenter on Kiss FM in 2005.
In 2019, Radio Africa Group retrenched many of its employees including Shaffie’s co-host Kalekye Mumo.
Quarcoo however spared Shaffie and moved him to Homeboyz Radio as the station’s Programs Controller with a Ksh682,500 monthly salary.
Shaffie Weru’s stint at Homeboyz Radio didn’t last for long, he made a costly blunder in March 2021 that got him fired.
Radio Africa Group terminated the contracts of Shaffie Weru, Joseph Munoru (DJ Mfalme), and Neville Muysa with immediate effect on March 27th 2021 for making controversial rape slurs.
Shaffie Weru alongside his co-hosts Neville Musya and Dj Joe Mfalme were accused of shaming a victim of sexual violence whose boyfriend threw her off the 12th floor of a building because she refused to spend the night at his place.
The three presenters issued public apologies, but some Kenyans weren’t convinced that they were sincere.
Shaffie Weru fought back after being fired, he threatened to sue his former employer Radio Africa Group for wrongful termination.
The veteran media personality threatened to file a case against the station demanding Ksh21 million for ‘unlawful termination’ in a demand letter and gave it a seven-day ultimatum.
He sought legal advice to demand compensation based on his contract and years of service.
He added that his legal decision was meant to protect his interests for fear of being short changed by his former employer due to the turn of events after he was fired.
Shaffie insisted that Radio Africa betrayed his 18 years of service to the company by how it handled his case, maintaining his sentiments on air were misunderstood.
He believed the law was on his side as his contribution to Radio Africa Group over the years was sufficient to win him the case should it go to court.
In his demand letter dated March 30, he demanded one month’s salary in lieu of notice totaling Ksh682,5000 and 12 months’ salary for unfair termination totaling Ksh8,190,000 as well as gratuity of Ksh12,285,000.
However, Radio Africa hit back hard and threatened to sue Shaffie Weru for breach of contract and negligence.
Radio Africa countersued Shaffie for Ksh150 million for loss of business and reputational damage to the company’s brands.
Radio Africa further said Weru contravened its policies and his employment contract, and as per the terms of his contract such action led to the “forthwith” termination of his services.
The media house took a massive hit on its revenue after EABL publicly announced it was pausing all forms of advertising on Radio Africa programmes hosted by the three presenters.
Knowing he was fighting a losing battle against Radio Africa, Shaffie decided not to go to court and ultimately accepted his fate.
He is yet to secure another gig on radio ever since Radio Africa axed him in March 2021. But Shaffie will definitely bounce back, you can bet on that.
