FEATURE: Joyce Omondi Bows Out of Rauka — “What an Honour”

FEATURE — first published as a look back at events of April 2026. For four years, Sunday mornings in Kenyan living rooms began with the same warm voice. That chapter closed on 19 April 2026, when Joyce Omondi hosted her final episode of Citizen TV’s gospel show. The Joyce Omondi Rauka era ended not with a fallout or a contract row but with a thank-you note, announced by the singer herself the day before and reported by Kenyans.co.ke, Pulse Kenya and Mpasho. It is the biggest career shift of 2026 for any winner from the Groove Awards 2013 class, and it deserves recording properly.

How the Joyce Omondi Rauka goodbye happened

She broke the news on Saturday 18 April 2026, in a short and characteristically gracious message.

“Tomorrow morning, I host my last show on Rauka. What an honour it has been,” she wrote, in the words carried by Kenyans.co.ke and Pulse Kenya.

On what came next, she was deliberately unspecific, saying only that she would be “transitioning into a new season and a new chapter in my life”. At the time of writing she had not announced a new broadcast role, and we are not going to speculate on her behalf.

Two stints, thirteen years apart

What makes the Joyce Omondi Rauka story unusual is that she did it twice. She first co-hosted the show around 2012 and 2013, before stepping away to pursue graduate studies. She returned in 2022, following Kambua’s departure, and stayed four more years alongside co-host Ken tha Deejay.

Between the two runs she built a broader media career, including hosting a morning lifestyle show, Full Circle with Joyce, on Switch TV. Tuko reported that Selestine Nyagah has been named as her replacement on the Citizen TV programme.

The Groove Awards 2013 connection

Her first Rauka stint overlapped almost exactly with her biggest night as a recording artist. At the eighth Groove Awards, held in Nairobi on 1 June 2013 and attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, her video for “Conquerer” won Video of the Year.

The rest of that winners’ board is now a useful map of where Kenyan gospel went next:

• Willy Paul, Male Artist of the Year, who returned to overt worship with “Mkono Wako” in March 2026
• Gloria Muliro, Female Artist of the Year
• Bahati, New Artist of the Year, who released the gospel single “Umenipendelea” in October 2025
• Jimmy Gait, Song of the Year for “Appointment”
• Pitson and Mwenye Haki, Collabo of the Year for “Wanajua”
• Hellena Ken, Album of the Year for Mambo Yanabadilika
• Makenna, Worship Song of the Year for “Hutaniacha”
• Anthony Ndiema, Radio Presenter of the Year

Of that group, Joyce Omondi is one of the few who built a second career in broadcasting rather than doubling down on touring.

More than a presenting job

Alongside the television work, she has led EPIC Women, a faith-based women’s platform that runs an annual assembly and regular teaching sessions, promoted through her own official channels. Her recorded catalogue, including the single “Naamini”, remains available on her official website and on streaming platforms.

That combination, artist, broadcaster and ministry founder, is increasingly the shape of a sustainable career in this sector. We looked at the underlying economics in our breakdown of how Kenyan gospel artists earn in 2026, and the same logic runs through Guardian Angel’s move into farming and business.

Why the Joyce Omondi Rauka exit matters

Sunday morning gospel television is one of the few remaining mass-reach platforms for Kenyan worship music. A presenter change there ripples outward to every artist hoping for a slot, every choir chasing exposure and every young worship leader watching from Kisumu or Kakamega.

It also closes a neat loop. She joined the show as a rising singer in 2012, won a Groove Award in 2013, left, came back as an established figure, and walked away on her own terms in 2026. Very few people in Kenyan media get to write that ending themselves.

For what else is on the church and worship calendar for the rest of this year, see our guide to the Kenyan churches’ ministry calendar for the second half of 2026.

What was your favourite Rauka moment over the years? Share it in the comments below.

Sources: Kenyans.co.ke, Pulse Kenya, Mpasho, Tuko, Nairobi Wire, joyceomondi.com.