Speaker

VICTORIA WAKIO MZENGE

Day 3

Nafasi ya Kiswahili [The places of Kiswahili in the VO industry ]

VICTORIA WAKIO MZENGE

Voice/Stage / Screen Actor and Film Director

Wakio Mzenge is a freelance award-winning voice, stage and screen actor with vast experience and
renowned for her professionalism, craftsmanship and her memorable performances in numerous TV /Big
Screen and stage shows. She has taken up lead roles and featured in Kenya’s highly celebrated shows
including: Showmax’s COUNTY 49 as Governor Nerimah (the lead role),CRIME AND JUSTICE as Dr. Auma
and Zainab (supporting roles) and IGIZA as Ida (supporting role), MNET’s 2 time award winning Swahili
telenovela SELINA as Mama Selina (lead role) , KTN’s popular Tv Drama Series MY TWO WIVES as Dama
(lead role), NTV’s PENDO Tv series as Maria (lead role), Makutano junction on Citizen Tv as Nurse Claire
(supporting role).
Wakio’s stage presence will be remembered in her stellar performances with the theatre company, Back to
Basics in stage plays such as Biko Zulu’s Breathe 1, 2 and 3, Freefall and Decompress. Heartstrings Kenya’s
Enough is Enough and This is Kenya.
In 2021 Wakio graduated from a story telling workshop by ArtXchange and her graduation performance
was selected to be showcased at the Culture and Creativity for Sustainable Development conference
organized by CISP East Africa. She was later selected as one of the 20 participants from Africa and Europe in
the 12-day ArtXchange residency in Rome Italy from 1st of May 2022 which culminated into a series of
performances inspired by the legendary Michelangelo Pistoletto’s works -The third Paradise.
Her voice has travelled the world in projects such as Deutsche Welle’s learning by ear series,
documentaries by Biscuit Factory and Adastra Development Ltd, Better World Educational videos by
Discovery Learning, Women of the world Docu-series , AMREF- HELP Solution project, EAC Infrastructure
Documentaries, Anzilisha Maternity Health project, the voice of Beatrice in the Kiswahili version of 19
Cantos of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy for the initiatives of the MAECI for the 700th anniversary of the
demise of Dante Alighieri 2020 courtesy of The Italian Cultural Institute, scripted and voiced the BOMAS at
50 (2021) documentary and numerous radio commercials, TVCs and IVRs for brands such as Safaricom,
Pwani Oil Ltd, KPLC, NCIC, Nestle, HELB and YU-Mobile.
As a bachelor of Education holder, Wakio has dedicated her time teach performance skills and share her
vast experience both in virtual and in-person masterclass sessions at KCA UNIVERSITY and Voice Actors
League of Kenya (VALK). She will be speaking at the 2022 Virtual Voice Over Africa Conference on Swahili as
a language of business.

September 10, 2022, 16:50 – 17:30