MEET ARNOLD AFUYA MUKABI THE ONE WHO CALLED SAFARICOM JUST FOR GREETINGS

There is more to Arnold Afuya than just “Hallo! Hapo ni Safaricom?”

It is said that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop and perhaps it could be the reason why the devil gets all the blame after someone has done something regrettable.
For Arnold Afuya Mukabi though, the case is very different.
The born-again Christian seems to be at his creative best when idleness and boredom creeps in and the result of him being bored recently saw him become the talk of town.
If you do not know who Arnold Afuya Mukabi is yet, perhaps you have not heard the audio clip of a man who called Safaricom Customer Care just to greet them and appeal to them not to put subscribers on hold when they try to reach them.

AUDIO: Man Calls Safaricom Customer Care, Says He Just Wanted To Send Greetings

In an exclusive interview with radiojambo.co.ke, the 20-year-old revealed that he called Safaricom and recorded the clip because he was bored and feeling low.
He never thought that act of cheering himself up would go viral on social media after he shared the clip with some of his close friends.
“I remember that day very well,” Afuya starts narrating of the cheeky incident, “I was feeling so bored and very low and to cheer myself, I decided to call Safaricom Customer Care and just tell them any crazy thing which will come to my mind. They put me on hold for four minutes.”
“I love recording my phone calls and when I listened to myself again after my call with the customer care agent ended, I could not help laughing at myself.”
After doing such a thing, one would think that advertising his craziness would be the last thing that he would do but that did not cross his mind.
He shared the audio clip with a friend of him named Kiptoo who was equally entertained by it and after getting positive feedback from him, he broadcasted it to a larger audience, a WhatsApp group, and then went to sleep.
In an ironic twist of fate, Afuya got a taste of what customer care agents go through the following day when he received so many calls and SMSes from his friends after the prank call to Safaricom Customer Care went viral.
“My phone went wild. My pastor even called and told me that he had never laughed that at,” Afuya said.
Surprisingly though, his mother has not heard the clip yet and Afuya revealed it is because she does not own a smartphone.
“I hope she will hear it being played on radio soon. I pray that God blesses those who played the clip on radio including Gidi and Ghost because it made really happy and proud.”

Born in Kitale on October 24 1995, Arnold Afuya is a staunch and born-again Christian. Despite enduring many hardships in life, he has always had unwavering trust and faith in God.

In the clip, Afuya could be heard telling the Customer Care agent that he would visit Safaricom offices that Friday to lodge an official complaint on being put an hold for so long. Despite not fulfilling that promise because he lacked bus fare, Afuya said that he has not written off that plan.
He however has kind words for the agent who picked his call and praised her patience.
“I admire how the lady handled the situation. Even though I was saying silly things and repeating myself, she was very patient and maintained a serious and professional tone. Simply said she knows her work well and if I were to meet her, I would ask her why she did not ask me if I had a query on any Safaricom service such as M-Pesa and the likes,” Afuya said about the agent.
One may wonder if Safaricom contacted him over the call or if at all he has got any job opportunities as a result of it, but none of that has happened yet.
However Afuya is hopeful that the call will open new doors for him which will enable him raise money to take himself to college and study journalism.
Despite lacking means, Afuya, as you will find out, compensates for that by being prayerful, hardworking and possessing an impressive ability in taking initiative.
He hails from Kitale and he is the first-born in a family of three children. His mother is a housewife and his father is a nightguard at club in Kitale.
“I am a born-again Christian and even though I have endured a lot of hardships in my life, I do not want that to hinder me from successful and hence an inspiration to others,” Afuya says as he starts narrating about his life.

Arnold Afuya loves sharing inspirational posts on his social media pages page.

“In Kitale, my family lived in the slums and it was by God’s grace that I completed Primary School and High School. I did KCSE in 2013 but because my parents could not take me to college, I became a hawker before finding work at cyber cafe,” he continues.
“Even though I have never been to a computer college, I am very good in IT and my willingness to learn has seen me learn how to drive a car without having to go to driving school,” he added.
Religion plays a huge role in Afuya’s life and because of his involvement in church activities, he has been able to venture into the media industry and work his way up to get a job as a radio presenter for Nyce FM.
“I love radio. In December 2014, I tried my luck at a radio station, Imani Radio, in Kitale after being connected by a churchmate. I used to host a gospel show and people started knowing me in Kitale as a result. People loved my show because other then knowing the Gospel, I also have good jokes. Working there was a challenge though, because I was not getting paid but I can not complain since I got some experience and exposure.”
His stint at Imani Radio created a path for him to join an online radio station based in Nairobi known as Nyce FM. At Nyce FM, Afuya hosts a gospel show known as The Dawn Devotion. It airs from 4am – 7am during weekdays and from 7am – 10am on Sundays.

Arnold Afuya at Nyce FM.

“I joined Nyce FM in January this year after they liked demos which I had sent them. In January I was not paid because I was on probation. My hardwork paid off though and from this month I will be getting paid after signing a contract,” Afuya said about working for Nyce FM.
He is glad that he has got a paying job and therefore life in Nairobi will be more bearable for him. He stays in Umoja.
“At least now life will be more bearable because I will be working and earning. Before that, life was a bit hard and there are days I would go without eating. I am happy that my girlfriend has been loving and understanding and I can not thank her enough for the support she has given me all along,” he said.
“I am more motivated to work even harder so that I can help my family at home. Like me, my siblings are struggling to get through school and I want to make life better for them,” he added.
One would be forgiven to believe that Afuya is an ardent football fan on learning that he was born exactly 10 years after Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney but that is not the case.
Outside work, he loves listening to gospel music and running his Youtube channel where he shares most of his works.
“I used to follow Manchester United but I stopped when Cristiano Ronaldo left for Real Madrid. Nowadays, I only follow AFC Leopards and catch up on latest trends in the gospel music industry when I am not at work. I also like surfing the internet to research on content for my show as well as watch episodes of comedy shows which I have missed.”
Although life has been hell for him, as he puts it, one can not help but admire his spirit in creating a little heaven for himself and those close and dear to him.
“People who see my social media pages may think I am better off because I dress well and share bible verses and inspirational posts. Unknown to them though, I persevere a lot so that I can inspire others. I hope that God will remember me and family soon,” he says as a parting shot