If I’m being honest, I never imagined I would still be on radio 20 years after I first stepped into that tiny non sound proofed Flash FM studio in 2005. I was just a young man with a voice, a dream, and absolutely no idea what the future of Rwanda’s media would look like. ALSO READ: Ugandan artiste lauds Rwanda’s journey in ‘love letter’ song But here’s the surprising truth I’ve learned two decades later. Here’s my story. Radio has a way of surviving. Not because it is the most modern medium but because it is the most human one. ALSO READ: How visa rejections led me to a new beginning in Rwanda Rwanda has transformed at a breathtaking pace, and so has the media that tells its stories. Through all of that change from the rise of social media to the explosion of AI, radio is still here. And so am I. Still talking, still learning, still waking up to speak to a nation I fell in love with. Where it began I joined broadcasting in Rwanda at a time when the industry was young, fragile, and largely undefined. We didn’t have roadmaps, no market data. We didn’t have “best practices.” We were pioneers, but we didn’t know it. ALSO READ: Kenyan songstress Victoria Kimani falls in love with Rwanda When I said my first “Good morning, Rwanda,” I had one mission: to make someone’s day better. Back then, we were building something from almost nothing - formats, identity, audience trust. The country was healing, rebuilding, finding its voice. Somehow, those early mornings became a place where the Rwanda English-speaking community felt seen and heard on the Sun UP show. And that is why radio still matters; because people still crave connection. The journey across Rwanda’s frequencies It’s been a long road for me in the industry. Contact FM, KFM, Kiss FM, Power FM, Royal FM, and now Capital FM, and I must have been lucky to be an advisor to the executive boards across all these platforms. Every station shaped me; every team stretched me; every listener taught me something new. What I didn’t know in 2005 is that radio is less about “broadcasting” and more about relationship-building. People may scroll past your post online, but they don’t scroll past your voice. Radio meets people in their kitchens, in their cars, on their walks, in their hard moments, and in their hopeful ones. That intimacy is its superpower. Radio still relevant in the digital age So many people ask me whether radio can survive TikTok, YouTube, and everything else. After 20 years, my answer is simple: radio survives when it evolves. Radio thrives when it remains human. Radio is not a competition with digital - it’s a partnership. The future of media isn’t choosing one medium over another; it’s blending them. Radio is still the heartbeat. Digital is the echo. Together, they create conversation. Leadership, reinvention and the work behind the mic Serving as CEO of Royal FM, building the first fully IP radio facility in Rwanda and later Africa’s biggest fully IP operated radio 47 in Kenya, transforming Radio O and TVO under Zion Temple - these were seasons of growth. Seasons that taught me courage, resilience, innovation. Through my company, MEDIACITY Ads Ltd, the team pushed to build not just content and production but the systems and technology that make good radio possible. We have trained young broadcasters, supported stations, and helped shape brands. If we want a strong media industry, we must invest in the ecosystem - not just the microphone. A new chapter: 103.5 Capital FM Today, I’m stepping into a chapter that feels like coming home yet moving forward. Capital FM is more than a station; it's a reset button. A chance to reimagine radio for a new Kigali: urban, global, fast-paced, proudly Rwandan. Here, my mission is clear: let Rwanda’s sound travel. Let Rwandan talent shine. Let contemporary radio be a bridge, not a relic. “Fresh Hits for Kigali” isn’t marketing language. It’s a promise to meet today’s Rwanda where it is; confident, creative, ambitious. What 20 years have taught me If I could sit with every young Rwandan who dreams of joining media, I would say this: radio still has room for you, your voice still matters, authenticity is still powerful, humanity will always outperform algorithms, and, the mic will always reward the one who respects it. The road ahead Two decades on, I’m not tired. I’m inspired because I’ve seen what radio can do when we innovate. I’ve seen how people respond when they feel understood. And I’ve seen that Rwanda’s media story is still being written. My dream now is bigger than my career. It’s to build Capital FM into a movement, one that elevates local music, trains new voices, inspires audiences, and makes radio relevant in new ways. Why I still love radio I love radio because it is raw, it is live, it is honest. It is imperfect in the most beautiful way. And in a world overflowing with noise, radio is still the medium that listens back. As I look at the next 20 years, I hold on to this hope: There is still magic in the airwaves. There is still power in the spoken word. And there is still a future in the voice you trust at sunrise. The writer is a media entrepreneur and consultant.
