When the vernacular mother radio, Kameme FM, hit the airwaves in early 2000, there was endless excitement all over Gikuyuland that a radio station that could communicate in their mother tongue had finally come.

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The station then owned by Rose Kimotho hit the airwaves with a catchy slogan 'Kayu ka Muingi' (Voice of the People) which it maintains up to today.

Among the elites, Kikuyu's Capital FM had come. For starters, Capital FM is an English station owned by the billionaire businessman Chris Kirubi.

Since its inception in 1996 where it was the first private radio station in Kenya to broadcast on FM frequencies, Capital FM main target audience has been the upmarket elites.

This is why Kameme FM was being compared to Capital FM. And indeed this comparison was not just from nowhere. As we note below, Kameme FM till today maintains some aspect of elitism.

When Kameme FM launched, it only had one frequency, 101.1FM which served and still serves Nairobi region and its environs.

It took over two years for Kameme to roll out frequencies in other parts of the country majorly dominated by Kikuyu speakers. This, however, could have been informed by a number of factors.

Among them include the restrictive President Daniel Moi's regime which feared that if the radio was allowed to broadcast beyond Nairobi, it would become a tool of propagating resentment against Moi's regime which was then facing a turbulent time in trying to woo the Mt Kenya populations on its side.

With Kameme FM limited to broadcast within Nairobi, it had to package its programming in a way that it could appeal to Kikuyus living within the city who are actually different from their rural counterparts in many aspects.

This is the reason Kameme FM may have had shows like 'Tibwirika', a Kiswahili youth programme that aired on weekdays between midday and 2pm. At 1pm and 5pm Kameme also had Kiswahili and English news respectively courtesy of BBC Kiswahili Service.

On weekends, Kameme also had English and Kiswahili programmes like Kameme Country (country music show) which it still maintains today, though the host now broadcasts in Kikuyu. Veteran radio producer Omari Abdalla also had a Kiswahili 'Zilizopendwa' show every Sunday afternoon.

Kameme FM also became the first Kikuyu radio station to incorporate music deejaying in its shows which has since been picked by its competitors.

Nevertheless, Kameme FM has continued to restructure its elitist programming to appeal to the rural audience where it has since gained footholds.

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