Veteran Journalist Shaka Ssali officially retires after 20 years on VOA’s Straight Talk Africa

Veteran Voice of America (VOA) journalist Shaka Ssali has officially retired after 20 years of hosting the famous Straight Talk Africa.

VOA announced his official retirement in a statement released via its socials.

“After 29 years at the Voice of America and 20 years at the helm of Straight Talk Africa, Shaka Ssali is retiring” Voice of America’s statement reads in parts.

He will be replaced by South African Journalist Hayde Adams from Cape Town, South Africa and has extensively covered political and social realities on the continent for local and international media.

Hyde was most recently a co-host of VOA’s Our Voices.

Ndugu Shaka has done his bit. He started the Straight Talk Africa show himself 20 years ago. Now that it’s the signature show for Voice of America, he can gracefully retire and concentrate on some of his other life passions, like reading books as well as speaking to and sharing wealth of knowledge with the youth across Africa,” a VOA source told the press.

Ndugu Shaka Ssali is a Ugandan-born American journalist who has worked for the Voice of America for over 23 years. He is the managing editor of Voice of America’s English to Africa service and the host of “Straight Talk Africa.”