Lulu Khadija Hassan is a primetime Kenyan news anchor, journalist, and film producer. The soft-spoken mother of 3, anchors Nipashe Wikendi news bulletin on Citizen TV alongside his husband and colleague, Rashid Abdalla.
Her Film Production Life
She is currently the CEO of Jiffy Pictures, a production house that boasts a wide catalog of Swahili soap operas. Jiffy Pictures has gained recognition for producing programs for local TV stations and on-demand streaming platforms such as MultiChoice’s DStv and Showmax.
Series produced by Jiffy Pictures include Maria, Sultana, Zora, Moyo, and Aziza on Citizen TV, Huba on Maisha Magic Bongo, Kovu on Showmax, and Maza on Maisha Magic East.
Lulu alongside her husband Rashid Abdalla, bagged the Best Producer award in the TV Drama award category during the Women in Film Awards (WIFA) 2021.
Her Early Life and Education
Lulu was born and bred in the coastal county of Mombasa. She comes from a middle-class family and has a good educational background.
Lulu attended Aga Khan Academy for her A-level education after which she received training in the travel industry at Salrene Travel Operations College. She trained as a cabin crew hostess, human resource manager, and ticketing officer.
Her mum passed on in 2007 and she had to take her sisters and keep them in school. Luckily, her mum was well invested in the real estate business which she began managing upon her demise. She was already managing it so it was not difficult to take over.
At Radio Salaam, circa 2008, Lulu used to present English news bulletins. This prompted her to pursue further studies to acquire journalism skills. She studied Communication and Journalism.
While still working there, a cameraman alerted her of news anchor vacancies. Two presenters at KTN were going on maternity leave and someone was quickly needed to step in. Interestingly, she is fluent in both English and Swahili. Lulu took the risk, tried her luck went for a screen test, and got the cut.
Fun Facts About Lulu
- Lulu is the firstborn in a family of three girls. When her mother passed away, Lulu had to take care of her two younger sisters.
- She has Seychellois and Kikuyu roots from her mother and father who were of Seychellois descent.
- Back in 2010, while working at KTN, Lulu was involved in a road accident in which her left leg was injured and affected her till now.
Marriage Life
Lulu is married to fellow Citizen TV presenter Rashid Abdalla. The two met way back at Radio Salaam. In earlier interviews, Rashid said he heard her voice on Radio and was eager to meet her in person. This was just after Lulu lost her mother, and he happened to be there for her through her grief.
Rashid offered her a shoulder to lean on in her most lonely time. As fate would have it, they grew so close in the process. The rest is history, she says.
Lulu revealed that since then she has always found a friend in Rashid and it was not weird for them to find themselves working on the same program. They are blessed with two sons, Jibran, 4, and Irfan, 1.
