New Year, New Nina Katangana

With 15 years of presenting experience – seven of which she spent presenting the country’s biggest TV breakfast show, ‘Good Morning Namibia’ – media personality Nina Katangana lets us in on her life.

Katangana, who likes to keep her business hers, allows The Weekender into her off-screen world.

After almost two decades of being in the industry, Katangana still enjoys what media offers.

“I enjoy what I do for the simple fact that it allows me to connect with others. There’s an appreciation I have to be able to deliver a message via the platforms that I do, media and especially broadcast media being a very powerful tool.

“Working in the industry has helped me gain confidence being in front of the camera and has aided me with my perception of things and people. It definitely gave me a front-row seat to happenings around the world. I must add that I do enjoy meeting people from different walks of life,” she says.

This has led to her being able to meet various people such as politicians, ministers, artists, academics and youth, including people from underprivileged communities.

While fans would often only see her on television or out and about, Katangana admits that her on-screen personality differs quite a bit from her real-life one.

“In person those who know me would know that I am extremely humorous, quick-witted, always smiling and a bit more unfiltered. I live a quiet, low-key life. I have a tiny circle of friends. I exercise my creativity as much as I can. Being home is my happy pace. My home is my sanctuary,” she says.

She still believes in fairy­tales and happy endings and is old enough to have experienced first-hand loss.

“I am strength and gentleness, perfectly intertwined. I am ambitious, gracious and strong-willed. I am as my name suggests – a gift from god to mankind,” she says upbeat.

She would often kick-start her day with a 05h00 jog. Alternatively her afternoons are spent getting some exercise in as well. She would also spend a lot of her time with self-care.

“Sometimes my self care involves doing absolutely nothing and other times it involves taking care of home. I’m a big advocate of making time for yourself. I don’t live in the city, and even the town I reside in offers the peace and serenity that speak to what my spirit appreciates,” she says.

Katangana is the youngest of three girls. Growing up, her parents were very involved in her life and always made sure that she and her siblings had the best education and exposed them to the world and the finer things in life as much as they could.

“My childhood was awesome. I lacked very little, if anything. My parents are both South African, Xhosa, and moved to Namibia. I was born here.

“My mother passed away last year in September due to Covid-19. It hurts me so much because she was my best friend. I will always remember what she taught me. The most incredible advice that I have gotten thus far is from my mom. She taught me about life. Our parents are really wiser than we give them credit for. So I cherish every word of advice she’s ever given me,” she says.

Katangana’s first television presenting job was in 2006, when she landed a gig with South African production company Endemol. “I hosted the Coca-Cola Youth Cup locally. Thereafter I became one of the first news anchors for One Africa TV. I was there for about three years when Trustco held auditions to replace Neville Basson and Mia de Klerk as Winna Mariba Presenters. I won that nationally televised competition to become the new host. After my contract with Trustco expired, I went on to become a news anchor again, this time at NBC, and in June 2015, I was recruited as a ‘Good Morning Namibia’ presenter’,” she says.

Katangana is passionate about sharing her skills and knowledge with those who are willing to learn from her. In 2021 she started her service-offering website (ninakaynam.com), which is aimed at training individuals to become television presenters and news anchors.

“This can be whether they want to be a part of mainstream TV or if they will be the online face of an employees social media page or even for their own social media pages such as a YouTube channel, Instagram TV or Facebook TV. I teach them the art of presenting. Many businesses and corporations are now also beginning to realise the benefits of having an online channel or channels and I train their staff on how to present the content they offer,” she says.

Katangana says the business idea was triggered because she felt it was time for her to give back and share her knowledge with the public. “I opted for the online platform because it’s the 20th century. Also the pandemic has taught us that we need to have an online presence for almost any type of business. The website will expand in the courses that it’s offering this year,” she says.

Besides being a presenter Katangana is also a professional moderator and has been doing this for almost four years now. “One of the most rewarding moderations I’ve done was in 2019 for the National Council of Namibia and Unicef. It was a three-day human rights campaign under the theme ‘The Journey’,” she recalls.

To make it in this industry Katangana suggests being confident, knowledgeable and making sure that you are always well informed on matters about which you will be speaking.

“Being successful in this industry requires you to be a combination of many things – tenacity, focus, goal oriented, commitment of the highest levels, self-discipline, visionary, flexible, go-getter, teachable and commitment,” she says optimistically.

Despite the success that the industry has enjoyed over the years, Katangana says broadcasting is not what I used to be 20 years ago. She says mainstream television needs a facelift.

“What would aid the evolution of this industry is the acceptance and embracing of the evolution of broadcasting. It’s competing with avenues such as online platforms, social media. And to stay relevant 20 years from now, change needs to be embraced,” Katangana says.

Katangana is currently busy with a new project that she plans to announce soon. For more information about the new project, follow her on social media.

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