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Danisa Masuku
Yesterday Star FM celebrated its fifth birthday.

It has been a wonderful journey that started in 2012 for Zimpapers’ first commercial radio station.

With the station having a blend of new and old blood, it has grown in leaps and bounds making it gain popularity across the world.

Behind this success is a dedicated team of radio personalities that have given their all for the evergreen radio station.

Saturday Leisure spoke to the following presenters who shared their journey.

Fiona Itayi Takaendesa aka Iyati (Programming Manager)

She has risen through the ranks from being a presenter of the Breeze show to being the programming manager. She attributes her rise to the grace of God.

“I’d quit radio in 2000 and in 2012, I joined StarFM. During my second year, I managed to scoop the DJ of the year award. Besides that, working for Star FM has made me travel to places like Egypt and Dubai,” she said.

She said veteran broadcasters like Comfort Mbofana, Innocent Tshuma, Leander Kandiero, and Tich Mataz laid the solid foundation for the success of the station but there was a gap which was to be filled by the new presenters.

“The wonderful mixture of the veteran and new presenters ignited the spark which made Star FM a station of choice. The dedication of the team has made the station to be ranked as the best commercial radio station [in the country].

“At first it was tough as we had few adverts to sustain us, but because of the team’s dedication, advertisers started to believe in our brand and adverts started coming through. We’d like to thank them for their unwavering support as well as the listeners for their support for the past five years,” she said.

Napoleon Nyanhi aka DJ Napster (former breakfast show presenter and programming manager).

Popularly known as Napster, Nyanhi joined the station as a part-time presenter in 2012.

“It was my first time to be on radio and I was trained by Innocent Tshuma. During one of my first shows, I made a blunder while I was on air as one of my workmates sent me a text message asking me to buy him electricity and I had to phone him back using the company’s landline. I did so while I had not switched off the air button so listeners followed my conversation where I told my workmate that I didn’t have money and he kept insisting. After the show, my phone was inundated with calls from listeners saying I should give him money for electricity then I realised I hadn’t switched off the on-air button,” he said.

Napster who has risen through the ranks to become Capitalk station manager, credits the station’s management for grooming him to become a broadcaster of repute.

“At Star FM, I was promoted from being a presenter to producer before eventually being the programming manager. I learnt a lot during my stint there especially when I co-hosted the breakfast show with Nikki.”

Phathisani Sibanda aka Mkwasha Mboko (producer, 3-6 Express presenter)

Joining Star FM after he was fired from Diamond Studios, Mkwasha Mboko who co-hosts drive time show – 3-6 Express with Kudzai Violet Gwara aka KVG has become a popular presenter on the station.

“On my first shift, I talked for 30 minutes while the mic was off. Innocent Tshuma phoned me asking why I wasn’t talking live and I realised I hadn’t switched on the mic,” he said.

Mkwasha Mboko said he was thankful to the station’s management for believing in him as he has toured the world on business.

“I’ve been to South Africa, United Kingdom and we’ll soon be returning to the UK after then we’ll go to Canada, taking radio to the people.”

Together with KVG, the two have made radio worth listening to with their inimitable combination. As a result, numerous companies have made them their brand ambassadors.

Kudzai Violet “KVG” Gwara (3-6 Express presenter)

Having started at the launch of the station, KVG almost quit her job on the first day as she was not confident, but the passion to be a broadcaster kept her going.

“When I was about to go on air, I went to Admire Taderera who was my former boss and told him that I couldn’t be on air. He said if I fail, then I should go home and never come back.

“I gathered the courage and went on air and improved with each passing day.”

She said being on radio had attracted the good and the bad.

“There’s a guy who used to call me telling me he was mesmerised with my voice and wanted to marry me. At times, he’d send me a WhatsApp message and I’d respond informing him that I wasn’t interested. Gradually, he stopped his stalking tendencies.”

KVG regards her trip to the UK last year as a great milestone in her broadcasting career adding that her mother has been her pillar of strength.
Nicola “Nikki” Ndoro (Breakfast Club presenter)

From a housewife to a radio presenter, Nicola Ndoro, fondly known as Nikki says her stint at Star FM has made her find her purpose to change lives.

“My hope is to change lives and being a presenter gives me a platform to do so. When I was hosting Starship, I interviewed a child who was suffering from hydrocephalus and we had to ask people to assist. The response was overwhelming as one man bought him a wheelchair and that inspired me to do more to change lives through radio.”

It has not been all rosy for the presenter who has been a victim of cyber attack.

“I’ve been a victim of cyber bullying. An unknown person insulted me on Facebook but I’ve learnt to put that aside and continue with my job, changing lives,” she said.

Tapuwa Musoni aka Day Walker (Chief Producer)

He has been with the station since its inception and has risen from being a junior producer to chief producer. Now, he co-hosts the Loony breakfast show with veteran broadcaster Davies Mugadza on Saturday. His exciting moment in this journey was when they hosted politicians Tendai Biti and Saviour Kasukuwere on a programme called Art of Power.

“The two politicians were discussing the indigenisation policy and they stole the limelight as they argued non-stop. The programme host Innocent Tshuma had to intervene and told them to adhere to set rules,” he said.

However, his worst moment was when he had invited former Speaker of Parliament Austin Zvoma for a live programme but had to cancel at the last moment.

“I’d invited Mr Zvoma but on the day, I got too busy and forgot that I’d invited him so we had to cancel the interview. For his slot, we put another speaker and had to apologise to Mr Zvoma and he got upset with me.”