10 Kenyan Journalists To Watch In 2023
In 2023, we as Kenyan followers of the media industry could see the surprise poaching of journalists who gained fame in their country
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Journalism is a noble calling. Some of the most successful journalists across the world have had an unwavering passion for matters media industry, so much that they wouldn't give it up for anything else.
The digital disruption has however seen digital media platforms in form of news blogs and video platforms challenge the mainstream players in the media industry, so much so that media houses such as Nation Media Group (NMG), Standard Media Group (SMG), Royal Media Services (RMS) among others poach stars from rival media channels in their quest to remain competitive.
In 2023, we as Kenyan followers of the media industry could see the surprise poaching of journalists who gained fame in their country for doing their duty of informing the public on events as they happen, as well as those who were hired into top media houses and have seen their profile grow tenfold ever since.
Viral Tea has compiled a list of 10 journalists we should watch in 2023:
Ayub Abdikadir
One of the headline signings by Citizen TV was Ayub Abdikadir from K24 as RMS was undertaking a raiding spree on three rivals in preparation for the coverage of the August 9 general elections.
Citizen TV's Ayub Abdikadir at Nyayo National Stadium on December 12, 2022. /FILE
Before K24 TV, Ayub served at Ebru TV and exploded into the national limelight in July when he cornered both Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati and Chief Executive Hussein Marjan in a joint media interview.
He tasked the duo to explain the vetting and awarding of a mega tender to a Dutch firm, Smartmatic elections company, which was responsible for the management of the elections, exposing how the Dutch company had failed to properly manage previous polls in Uganda, the Phillippines and the US.
“Did you know the cybercrime investigation and the coordinating centre CICC in the Philippines after the 2016 elections called on its Smartmatic to compromise the elections which led to the election of President Rodrigo Duterte?” he posed.
“Did you know that in Uganda, the biometrics voter kits failed, forcing election officials to revert to the manual voter’s system? Did you know that in Venezuela, in Latin America 2017 Smartmatic on its own acknowledged that the turnout of voter figures was manipulated by at least 1 million voters? Did you establish this before you awarded the contract?” he posed.
Forthrightness, hard-hitting and relentless in seeking answers. A noble profession. #CHEBUKATISPEAKS2022 pic.twitter.com/SesuLR8nol — Ayub Sh Abdikadir (@AyubAbdikadir) July 15, 2022
Marjan responded: “No because I rely on the evaluation committee after they do their due diligence and they provide me with the report, that is what I rely on and therefore this other news you are providing now are things that I was not even aware about.”
Liz Jackson
Arguably nobody in Kenya has breathed life into budding journalists more than SPM Buzz reporter, Liz Jackson. Mind you, she's only 23 years old!
Liz is a digital strategist who runs SPM Buzz’s digital department as well as a Lifestyle and Travel Content creator with her own YouTube channel which captures her documenting her expeditions to the Coast, Maasai Mara, and Wajir, among others.
On Wednesday, November 9, she was captured in a video interacting with Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Alfred Mutua at State House after she was again captured fielding a catchy question to Presidents William Ruto and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa after they both agreed to lift the visa regulations between the two nations. Starting January 1, 2023, Kenyans will travel to South Africa visa-free for 90 days a year.
The 23-year-old shared the clip on her official handles which drew all manner of wild reactions, which were intensified by Viral Tea’s sharing of the same video but including Minority Leader Junet Mohamed’s famous phrase “Hii imeenda (it’s gone)”, all of them turning her into a star overnight.
"He (Mutua) turned to look at who was asking the question because he was a filmmaker who did Beba Beba and Cobra Squad. He acknowledged my question. Nobody else asked about Entertainment.
"Thereafter he said hello to the whole media team, just that the rest were not recorded. I asked if we could do an exclusive interview and he shared his number with us," she exclusively told Viral Tea, further dismissing speculations ignited by KOT that Mutua seemingly found a new catch.
If she continues her relentless rise to the top in 2023, it will be a matter of 'when not if' in case the top media houses come calling for her.
Eric Njiru
With a number of sporting events to look out for in 2023 including the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Rugby World Cup 2023, the Radio Africa Group journalist and Homeboyz Radio presenter will be expected to continue from the impressive coverage he left off during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
"I am now taking media booking for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2023 and Rugby World Cup 2023 France. Reach me at [email protected] or via Twitter DM. Thank you," he tweeted on Tuesday, December 20.
One would not miss a pre-match press conference at the FIFA World Cup involving various teams as he shared updates of the same across social media platforms, particularly Twitter, earning plaudits from sports fans across the world.
If you wanted to watch training sessions of the team you supported at the World Cup, he got you. He even did a face-to-face interview with legendary English football commentator, Peter Drury.
His relentless banter of Manchester United and Arsenal fans in Kenya has seen his profile continue to grow and it is only a matter of time before media houses start looking towards him, including Citizen TV whose sports desk was left vulnerable, with veteran journalist Mike Okinyi currently the last standing prominent sports personality at the station.
Caren Kibbett
2022 was a standout year for the KBC sports anchor as her ravishingly good looks at the station blew up tenfold in July thanks to a photo on Instagram of her taking viewers through the four presidential candidates at the time; William Ruto (now president), Raila Odinga, George Wajackoyah and David Mwaure while she was promoting the schedule of the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA, which was broadcasted by the state-owned media house.
Her outfit at the time was a hugging, dark turquoise-blue dress that accentuated her God-given curves in a way that Kenyan men find it hard to delete from their minds.
In August 2021, KBC poached her following a massive rebranding in July 2021 in a bid to get back to its glory days. On Saturday, October 15, she bagged two awards at the Zikomo Africa Awards 2022 in Lusaka, Zambia; Best TV Personality of the Year and Best Journalist of the Year, having been shortlisted for both.
Kibbett could prove vital in enhancing the image and popularity of the state broadcaster seeking to get back to its glory days.
John Mbati
An editor and creative writer at the online news website Kenyans.co.ke, Mbati achieved a new milestone on Wednesday, December 28 by emerging second in the FEMA 2022 awards Promising Male Artist of the Year in his other role as a musician.
“Emerged 2nd as Promising Male Artist of the Year at FEMA Awards 2022. Asanteni sana (thank you very much) for your support,” he wrote on social media.
Since his debut release of Huru alongside Faith Kalondu, Mbati has two songs to his name and traversed media interviews ranging from Citizen TV, Who Owns Kenya and Viral Tea. He currently works as a digital content creator, data analyst, and campaign writer and is the Head of Internship at Kenyans.co.ke
“Faith Kalondu has two more songs and we were on the same campus. This song is about our salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ and how the Messiah died for our sins to be forgiven,” he described the Huru song exclusively to Viral Tea.
Cynthia Mwangi
Many have been used to hearing the sultry voice of Cynthia 'Ythera' Mwangi in voice-overs and on air at Hot 96 every Saturday, but her appearance through a new show dubbed 'Behind the Mic' on Citizen Digital was her first real test behind the silver screen.
The show that runs every Friday through the Citizen Digital mobile application has so far seen her interview some of Kenya's most popular media personalities, some of whom work alongside her at Royal Media Services (RMS) ranging from Lillian Muli and Stephen Letoo as they share the stories of their humble beginnings, stories of success, betrayal and other tales that happen behind the scenes of the personalities on TV and radio stations.
Besides being the Head of Radio at Hot 96, a radio host, and a content producer, Mwangi is also a Public Relations (PR) consultant and a Life coach. She also launched a ‘Living by Design’ podcast this year that featured on the Citizen Digital platform and across platforms such as Spotify.
Cynthia Mwangi posing for a photo. /FACEBOOK.CYNTHIA MWANGI
"As a content producer, I have served as part of the best Swahili Afternoon Shows, Mambo Mseto with Willy M Tuva on Radio Citizen, produced one of the most listened/watched breakfast shows on English Radio, Hot Breakfast which was then hosted by Jeff and Jalas. What I love about content production is the ability to bring ideas to life which remains one of my biggest assets and strengths," she revealed in a #KenyaWomenSeries feature in 2021, which was published by Viral Tea.
Dennis Okari & Mark Masai
Just because the dynamic duo left NTV after becoming famous in the station for years does not mean that they aren't journalists to look out for in 2023. As a matter of fact, many eyes will be on them for what they do in 2023.
They linked up for a show together dubbed The Social Newsroom and had their first show on Thursday, December 15 where they recounted their careers in the media space as well as promising to open up the show to untold stories and interviews.
Their first show turned out to be a huge success and to date, it has been watched over 25,000 times on YouTube.
The two established themselves as bigwigs while at NTV for years. Unfortunately, they were sent packing by the Nation Media Group (NMG) in a mass firing exercise that went after its senior journalists.
Nissie Imano
She is a lunchtime news anchor at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and just like her colleague, Caren Kibbett, Kenyan men simply can't get enough of her ravishingly good looks and melodious voice anytime she presents the latest news bulletins.
Nissie Okoth Imano is a gospel artist who graduated from Daystar University in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in Communication and Media Studies. According to her Facebook profile, she is married to one Owiso Martin Okoth.
Frederick Muitiriri
The Swahili news anchor was poached by NTV from TV47 ahead of the August 9 elections after just five months into his stint at the Cape Media-owned TV station.
He joins NTV's Swahili lineup that consists of Lofty Matambo, Fridah Mwaka, Nicholas Wambua and Salim Swaleh among others, but what is interesting about him is his career traversing two different sectors including the National Police Service (NPS).
"Throughout high school, I never studied at all. I would be out there attending all types of gigs; drama festivals, football competitions, scouts events," Muitiriri shared.
The Swahili anchor added that he did not qualify to study journalism after scoring a C - (minus) in his KCSE exam and opted to join the police force instead. He kept his dreams alive in the media industry while in the police service and saved Ksh3,000 monthly to pay for his school fee at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC), domiciled in Nairobi's South C.
After numerous hurdles with his seniors in the force regarding his transfer to Nairobi from Isiolo to complete his studies, Muitiriri quit the police force to complete his studies and had stints in several media houses prior to NTV, including TV47, Switch TV, Inooro TV, Radio Maisha and Hero Radio located in Nakuru.
Collage of Frederick Muitiriri, a former police officer who works as an NTV news anchor. /FILE
