There’s something about Sanaipei Tande that strikes you the moment you meet her — her aura, her effervescent energy. She’s playful yet unwavering in her convictions, light-hearted but anchored by principle.
On social media, she’s a beloved figure. Her comment sections overflow with declarations of love from admirers, many of them men proposing marriage, an institution she remains open to but refuses to rush toward.
For Ms Sanaipei or Sana, whom the entertainment industry has crowned a legend, happiness isn’t negotiable, it’s the compass by which she navigates every choice.“Life is not about performing for the world, it’s about choosing what makes you happiest,” she says.
Being in the limelight for more than two decades, Sana notes of so many misconceptions about her personality from the public.“I am not always this bubbly as most of you think of me,” she says. “Maybe it’s because I am in showbiz. Away from the cameras, I am a very laid back person; very shy, an introvert but a perfectionist. I’m also not strict unless you decide to push the envelope, then that other side of me comes out. But I am very firm with my opinions and decisions. I don’t try to agree with everybody, and I never expect everybody to agree with me — and I think that’s okay.”Her ascent to celebville began in music. The breakthrough came in 2004, at just 18, when Sema, the group she formed with Pam Waithaka and Kevin Waweru, clinched the Coca-Cola Pop Stars singing competition. But when the group dissolved less than a year later, Sana climbed even higher.
Did you know she actually got into music because of her parents?“Back then there was the famous Pop Idol and when Coca-Cola bought into the idea, my brother tried to convince me to go for the audition but I wasn’t up for the idea. Like I said, I am a very shy person. My brother then told my parents about it and they took me for the auditions and that’s how I ended up being part of Sema, teaming with Pam and Kev, and went on to win the competition. And that marked the beginning of this journey. My late father was actually very instrumental ensuring I never missed any auditions,” she recalls.
In the years that followed, her voice opened doors to radio. Her eloquence and stage presence carried her into film. Now, she straddles both worlds with grace, even though an otolaryngologist has advised that she pick one.
That’s a hard one.“I just can’t. I wish I could. An ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist) has advised that I need to pick one career: either do radio, sing or just act, because I need to rest my voice, but I just cant. I am well aware of the risks because you need to rest your voice but, somehow, I have been able to do all of these. Of course, there has been a price — my vocals have had to suffer because of the constant shouting while acting,” she says.
But throughout this creative odyssey, where fame so easily eclipses everything in the public eye, Sana, who still sees herself as an ordinary woman rather than a star, insists that life has been her most faithful teacher.“Since I was 21, I always knew what I wanted to be,” she reflects.“I had an idea of what my path should look like, the things I valued. But, at that age, I just hadn’t acted on them yet. As I grew older, I cemented all of that.”She slips into a philosophical tone, acknowledging that it took time and a fair bit of stumbling to gather everything under her belt. Music, for instance, is an area where she admits to having some regrets.
Growing up, Sana never envisioned herself draped in the trappings of an artistic career. But her parents, especially her father, rewrote that script, becoming her most ardent cheerleaders and gently steering her toward the creative world. That shift, however beautiful, meant navigating the music business through trial and error.”I wish I’d understood music and the industry better. When I auditioned for Coca-Cola Popstars, I was fresh out of KMTC (Kenya Medical Training College), a pharmacist perfectly content standing in the corner of a pharmacy, mixing powders for customers. That is what I wanted. As an introvert, I wanted a career that I not only loved but also exempted me from much interaction. So, when I got into Sema, I could sing but that was it. I didn’t think about music outside the studio. I didn’t take the initiative to understand the business beyond recording. Honestly, even today, I still don’t think I fully grasp it, and, of course, that has cost me some coins.”She laughs softly at the admission, regretful but accepting. Sana would love to remedy that gap, but these days, time is a luxury she can’t afford.”I’m juggling so much now that I’ve left the intricacies to the experts. I’m content with what I’ve learned it’s enough to keep me going.”Her radio debut came in 2005, just as Sema dissolved a mere six months after their competition win and the release of a 17-track album. The late billionaire Chris Kirubi had been quietly watching.”CK got me into radio. He had me trained as a presenter for three months, a probation period. Afterward, I asked for a contract, but they told me I didn’t have the ‘Capital FM accent.’ Apparently, I wasn’t polished enough for their elite audience,” she laughs.“A few weeks later, I landed at Kiss FM, where I stayed from 2006 to 2012. Then I moved to Nation FM until 2015, when I was among those laid off.”Losing her radio job forced her to restart — quite literally. Now jobless and humbled, she packed her bags and returned to her parents’ home in Matasia, Ngong, in Kajiado County.”I’ve moved back home twice during in my adult life without shame. When Nation FM let me go, I went straight back to my parents. In 2017, I moved out again after doing a couple of well-paying jobs. And in 2022, I finally moved into my own house — the one I had just finished building.”At 40, Sana believes the only way to live fully is to shape your own beliefs, and this philosophy deeply informs her views on many aspects of life, including marriage.“You don’t have to conform to society’s standards. You should be able to have your own beliefs. People say Sana should get married. I could already be a wife, but you’ll never know, because that’s nobody’s business. People should focus on my acting and music, that’s it. Marriage isn’t the ultimate goal in life.”To her, the pressure people project comes from inherited expectations, not personal conviction.“When people push these narratives, it’s only because they’ve been conditioned to believe certain milestones are mandatory. But why does it have to be marriage? What about uplifting communities? Helping children? We need to stop conforming to these rigid societal scripts and open our minds. I always say, let go and flow. Don’t overthink it. Don’t over-try. Everything that unfolds in your life is precise, it happens exactly when it’s meant to.”Sana’s philosophy of self-authored beliefs extends even into spirituality. She questions everything, not out of rebellion, but out of a desire to understand.“I went to an Irish school, Loreto Convent. I remember asking one of the sisters during Bible study, ‘Where is God from? Where did he come from? Was it a spirit? What was this space before, was it some fusion of energies that created it?’ And I remember getting a dressing-down. I was told I should never question things about God.”But questioning is how she has always made sense of the world.”To some extent, life has offered me answers. We learn every day. We’re still evolving. The point I’m trying to put across is, before you do anything, ask yourself, does it make sense? Why does it make sense? How? Who does it impact? Who does it influence? Who does it hurt? Always ask questions. Don’t just do. Don’t just conform. Things have to make sense.”In the 21 years that she has been carving out her name into Kenya’s entertainment landscape, Sana says she never imagined her forties would be her most relentless. Yet here she is, busier than ever before, riding out a wave that arrived fashionably late. It’s an unexpected twist she navigates with gratitude.”For all my 21 active years in this industry, the past two have been my busiest. It’s overwhelming sometimes because, honestly, you expect to be at your busiest when you’re younger, when you have the energy, the hunger, the recklessness. Not when you’re older and thinking about slowing down or transitioning into a different kind of life.”But life, as Sana knows all too well, rarely follows the script.“If there is a word that never existed in my vocabulary before was learning to say, ‘No, I am not available.’ Now it does. Before, I couldn’t say no, because I was too understanding but, in 2023, I learned to say ‘no, this time I am not available.’ That was when I asked for a break from shooting Kina and I was told ‘no, the show has to continue,’ and so I opted to resign from the show. I used to shoot a lot of scenes per day — 15 or 16 — and so, going into season four, I was fatigued, I badly needed a rest to recharge. During that period, my music suffered a lot, I wasn’t able to release any new music because I struggled with balancing the two.”But, perhaps the sweetest shift in these past two years has been the recognition, not just of her presence, but of her artistry.”After all these years in this industry, I’m finally getting the recognition. I mean, it’s not as it should be but, finally, people are starting to listen to the music from the depths of it. Unfortunately, for so many years, it was always about the beat. Now, people are actually listening to the lyrics, the message. And my music has always been message-oriented. It’s very nice to now see people quoting lines from my songs.”While her career has expanded, her inner circle has not. Sana’s circle remains small, sacred, and unchanging.”My friendships haven’t evolved in the sense that they’ve changed. By the time you’re my true friend, things don’t have to shift. We’ll find time for each other, whether you’re married, have children, whatever. We always make it work. I still talk to friends from primary school, from high school. And, yes, I’ve made friends in the industry too, though I’m very careful about that. The industry is a very special place — it requires discernment.” Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
