Kenya’s best TV revealed in Kalasha 2019 nominations

The Kalasha Awards 2019, Kenya’s biggest TV/movie award season is here, and it has kicked off with some tough competition in major categories.

The nominations were announced by the Kenya Film Commission on Thursday, 31 October. As usual, it was no surprise that the coveted list featured some the biggest Kenyan titles in the film and TV industry in 2019.

A delightful surprise was that two student films – MultiChoice Talent Factory productions Ensulo and Promises – earned nominations for Best Feature Film alongside popular productions like Mugambi Nthiga’s Lusala, Lowladee’s Plan B and Nick Mutuma’s You Again.

Tough competition ahead

In the Television category, among those nominated was Rueben Odanga’s beloved Swahili telenovela Selina in three categories: Best TV Drama, Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama for Celestine Gachuhi who plays Selina and Best Lead Actor for Pascal Tokodi, who plays Nelson Mackenzie.

You may remember that Selina was also nominated three times in the same categories at the Kalasha Awards 2018 but lost Best Actress and Actor to My Two Wives (coming soon to Showmax). Selina has become Kenya’s most-watched show in 2019, with one of the most dedicated fan bases, a privilege it didn’t enjoy a year ago. Perhaps the hit telenovela will be luckier when the winners for the Kalasha Awards 2019 are announced?

Pete, another Swahili telenovela, is Selina’s rival in the Best TV Drama, Best Lead Actress (Sahara Mohammed) and Best Lead Actor (Leon Ongaya) categories. A first time Kalasha nominee, Pete which is directed by AMVCAs winner Daudi Anguka, follows the bitter rivalry between two brothers who fight over the control of Funzi Island after their father, the chief, dies without naming his successor.

Scolly Cheruto’s Monica is another strong contender that Selina will be looking to beat in the Best TV Drama category and in the Best Lead Actress category, where Brenda Wairimu faces off with her Selina co-star and onscreen rival Celestine Gachuhi.

Barely four months old, the comedy-drama Njoro wa Uba impresses with two nominations as Best TV Comedy (alongside 2018’s nominee Varshita and Nyanya Rukia) and Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama for Joe Kinyua.

In Njoro wa Uba, Kinyua plays Njoro, a man who turns to the taxi business to make ends meet after he loses a lucrative job due to fraud and is faced with the daily frustrations of the online taxi business in a city as unpredictable and as busy as Nairobi.

List of all nominees on Showmax

Best TV Drama

• Selina
• Monica
• Pete

Best Lead Actress in a TV Drama

• Brenda Wairimu – Monica
• Celestine Gachuhi – Selina
• Sahara Mohammed – Pete

Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama

• Pascal Tokodi – Selina
• Maqbul Mohammed – Varshita
• Joe Kinyua – Njoro wa Uba
• Leon Ongaya – Pete

Best TV Comedy

• Njoro wa Uba
• Nyanya Rukia
• Varshita

Best Performance in a TV Comedy

• Eve D’Souza – Varshita
• Peter Sankale – Hullabaloo Estate
• Kazungu Fahamu – Nyanya Rukia

Best TV Reality

• Our Perfect Wedding

Best Student Feature

• Ensulo
• Promises

Best Feature Film

• Plan B
• Ensulo
• Promises

See full list of all Kalasha Awards 2019 nominees here. Voting is now open.

Video interviews with the stars

Brenda Wairimu’s dramatic role as Rosette on Selina

Stars of Selina, Pascal Tokodi and Celestine Gachuhi serenade each other