Kanze Dena is a well-known public figure in Kenya. She rose to fame as a Swahili news co-anchor on Citizen TV alongside Lulu Hassan. After a successful career spanning over a decade, she resigned from her position at Citizen TV to take up the post of Deputy State House Spokesperson. Within weeks of her appointment, she was promoted to the position of Spokesperson in the Executive Office of the President and the head of the President’s Strategic Communication Unit.
However, Kanze Dena’s career success was not achieved without pain and loss. She was brought up by a single mother in Kwale county after her parents separated, and she lost her mother to colon cancer before the birth of her son. She struggled with low self-esteem due to what she called “bow legs,” but found solace in acting and reciting poems during drama festivals. Despite this, it took her a while to gain her self-confidence, and she even contemplated suicide at one point.
Kanze Dena became a mother at a young age and experienced the pain of losing a child when her baby girl passed away. The experience was so traumatic that she found it hard to visit friends soon after they gave birth. She became depressed and turned to church for solace, where she joined the worship team. She later became pregnant again and gave birth to a boy named Amani, who is now 16 years old.
In 2019, Kanze Dena got married in an invite-only ceremony held at Ol Pejeta. The former Citizen TV anchor married Nick Mararo, CEO of Nuvision Media. The ceremony was so discreet that even the staff at Ol Pejeta did not know whose wedding it was. The couple were blessed with a baby boy named Joe.
Despite the challenges she has faced in life, Kanze Dena has remained resilient and achieved success in her career and personal life. Her story serves as an inspiration to many, particularly young women who may be facing similar challenges in their lives.
