KASS FM

Kass FM is a commercial radio station for Kalenjin speakers. It broadcasts in Kalenjin from Nairobi, and much of its audience lives in the Rift Valley, where the language is spoken at home. News, talk and music in the mother tongue fill its schedule.

The FM licence belongs to Kalee Limited, says the Communications Authority's register of broadcasters dated 30 June 2026. It was issued on 25 March 2020 for a ten-year term. Kalee uses the same Nairobi postal address as Kass Media Group Ltd, licensee of Kass TV, so the brand reaches its audience on television too.

The station's name is tied to a major press-freedom row of the 2005 constitutional referendum. That November, the then Communications Commission of Kenya took Kass FM off air, and government spokesman Alfred Mutua accused it of stirring ethnic hatred. There had been no warning, and the regulator wanted 21 days of recordings. Journalists and opposition MPs saw a political motive: Kass FM had criticised the draft constitution, which voters went on to reject.

Protests followed from MPs representing the Rift Valley, from the journalists' union KUJ and from media freedom groups. Within days the station returned, on 18 November 2005. The owner, C.K. Joshua, promised to hand the regulator 90 days of recordings.

In Nairobi, Kass FM is on 89.1 FM. Away from the signal, you can stream it live on this page.