Alex Mwakideu Talks Growing Up with 19 Siblings in a Single Room

Popular radio presenter Alex Mwakideu has shared an emotional story about his upbringing, revealing that he is one of 20 children raised by a father he calls his hero.

Speaking on Engage Talk, the celebrated media personality opened up about his childhood in Mombasa, where he grew up with 19 siblings in a single-room municipal house. His mother, he recounted, would pray fervently for the day she would no longer have to share a toilet with neighbours.

“My father is my hero. He passed on in 2011. God blessed him with 20 kids. I am the last born in the family. I only wished that God blessed him with wealth to raise us,“ Mwakideu shared.

Even with the financial hardships, Mwakideu’s father took care of the family. He left the family home when Alex was in Class 3 to live in Taita, but continued to give his all to provide for his large family from afar. “That is why he is my hero,” Mwakideu said, showing a tattoo of his father’s face on his left arm, a tribute he got in 2011, the year his father passed away.

After completing high school, Mwakideu made a life-changing journey to Taita to visit his father, seeking his blessings before embarking on adulthood. He stayed with him for two months, soaking in his wisdom and guidance. “He told me he succeeded because he never went to the bar. He prayed for me and blessed me. He told me to go and conquer the world,” Mwakideu recalled. “Those words have stayed with me ever since.”