5 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Hassan Mwana wa Ali
Hassan's love for Swahili came when he worked at Tanzania based radio station where he embraced the language till date. Photos courtesy.
Ali Hassan Kauleni commonly known as Hassan Mwana wa Ali is one of the popular football commentators in Kenya and East Africa. The renowned sports journalist has been in radio for over a decade now having worked in different radio stations and media houses among them Royal Media Services at Radio Citizen before leaving the station in 2010 for Radio Maisha at Standard Group Media.
Hassan ruled the airwaves with different shows that he has been running more so while he was at Radio Maisha before leaving for Cape Media owned station, Radio 47 which went on air barely one year ago. At Radio Maisha, Kauleni hosted one of the most popular shows in the country which was slated on Saturdays dubbed ‘Nuru Ya Lugha’. The educative show was basically meant to the enable growth of Swahili language as well as nurture students to embrace the language.
Being the Head of Sports at the station, Kauleni used to lead the sports team in running sports show ‘Danadana Viwanjani’ as well as football commentating alongside the self-made ‘King wa Macuzo’ Stephen Mukangai and Walter Kinjo. Hassan Mwana wa Ali also hosted a late-night show known as Maisha Cocktail after Maji Makuu program that was hosted by seasoned journalist Babu Wakasiaka after it was scrapped off by the station.
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Hassan Mwana wa Ali is loved by many for his prowess and eloquence in Swahili language has gained massive following in recent years for his unique way of celebrating goals during football commentary especially for his popular ‘Amope chronicles’ which made fans nickname him Amope. In this article we will look at 5 interesting facts about Hassan that you were not aware of.
1. He is a Luhya
With his prowess in speaking Swahili language, many think Ali Hassan hails from Coastal region but that is not true. Hassan’s love for Swahili came when he worked at Tanzania based radio station where he embraced the language till date. Many of his listeners cherishe him because of that.
2. Apart from Radio 47 He also Works at SuperSport
Despite being contracted at Cape Media owned station Radio 47 where he runs every Saturday’s program dubbed Bahari Ya Elimu and sports show Mikiki ya Spoti, he also works for South African based broadcaster SuperSport which has a branch in Kenya, and he is contracted to commentate matches in Swahili language.
3. He is a Novel Writer
Apart from broadcasting, Hassan Mwana wa Ali is also a gifted author. In 2022, he launched his Swahili novel dubbed ‘Vumba.’ The inspiration behind writing set books is triggered by the ‘king’ of Swahili writing late Professor Ken Walibora who was his close friend.
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4. Mentored and secured a job for Stephen Mukanga at Radio Maisha
The cheerful football commentator Stephen Mukangai joined Standard Group media as an intern in 2010 upon an invitation by Hassan Mwana Ali and after 6 months as an intern, Mukangai impressed Hassan who recommended his name to the bosses and that’s how Mukangai ended up securing a job at the station.
5. Mastermind Behind Popular Program ‘DoziDozi’
Dozi Dozi za English Premier League is one of the most popular segments in Kenya’s radio history as the segment was designed to shade the light on stories that happens behind the curtains, gossip as well as social life of football players. Hassan was the person behind the idea of coming up with program name as well as the kind of content where Stephen Mukangai was the one tasked in running the segment.
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