Former Switch TV news anchor Robert Ouma and Emmanuel Terer lost their jobs in December 2021, the duo was forced to switched career from being journalists to matatu tout and hairdresser.
Ouma and Terer were among dozens of Switch TV former employees who were laid off after the station changed its model of operations on December 31, 2021.
Switch TV made a radical change in its business model that saw it transition from on-air to digital broadcast.
The Red Cross-owned station ceased its on-air broadcast operations, a move that made Switch TV to lay off most of its employees.
In a statement dated December 10th 2021, the media group Chairman, Sahil Shah, stated that they will be focusing on the digital space.
Shah explained that Switch Media decided to fully transition to the audio-visual and digital space in line with market demands and that the media house will be building the new strategy around being ‘digital-first.
After being laid off by Switch TV, Robert Ouma quickly resorted to find an alternative source of income and he ended up in the matatu sector.
Ouma shared photos of his new workplace in a matatu on Thursday, January 20th 2022 to the surprise of his followers.
He, however, revealed that he is contented and happy with his new job stating, “an office is just a name, let’s work. Tout of the week. Rongai massive.”
For Emmanuel Terer, he opted to be a hairdresser after Switch TV laid off most of its employees in mass retrenchment.
Terer who is known for his proficiency in the Swahili language now keeps himself busy doing menial jobs to earn a living and survive the harsh economic situation.
“There are three things I am doing now. I am selling women’s shoes, doing hairdressing and doing my productions,” he said in an interview.
The news anchor who has been going viral for his signature productions dubbed Wosia Wa Terer is confident that he will soon bounce back to his journalism career even as it appears things are tough in the field.
Before joining Switch TV, he was a news anchor at TV47.
He began his professional journalism journey at Citizen TV where he was an intern.
