Eric Njiru's Rise From Electronics Marketer To Leading SJAK

Eric Njiru, who is a presenter at Homeboyz Radio and works at Radio Africa Group as a journalist had an impressive 2022 covering the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, his 2023 just got better.

Njiru on Saturday, April 15 confirmed to Viral Tea that he was elected as the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) Vice-President, deputising People Daily Sports Editor, James Waindi who was elected the SJAK President.

SJAK is an affiliate of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, which seeks to enhance the cooperation between sports media in defending sports and the professional interest of their members.

Njiru was elected alongside former Citizen TV sports anchor, Mukami Wambora, who clinched the Treasurer's role, marking arguably their first reunion since they worked together at Royal Media Services (RMS).

Journalists Mukami Wambora and Eric Njiru watching Germany vs Costa Rica at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. /INSTAGRAM.MUKAMI WAMBORA

His rise to the top is however an interesting one. He started out at Samsung Electronics in the Marketing sector in December 2013 whereby he was promoting Samsung's Facebook page, selling and giving awards.

His first foray into the media space came in May 2013 when he joined MMU Radio, a community radio station owned by the Multimedia University of Kenya (MMU) which served residents of Rongai and its environs. MMU was the same university where he did his Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism until 2016.

He then joined Pamoja FM based in Kibera in 2013 whereby he was a presenter, editor, anchor and reporter before leaving in 2015.

In 2018, he worked as the Rugby Africa Gold Cup journalist for APO Group-Africa Newsroom whereby he covered the Rugby Africa Gold Cup for APO Group -Africa Newsroom and the 2019 Rugby World Cup. It was here that he won the Rugby Africa Gold Cup Photo Award for his stunning picture of Davis Chenge, a captain of the Kenya rugby team at the time, scoring a try during the Kenya-Tunisia game in Nairobi on August 11 of that year.

Njiru joined RMS the following year as a sports sub-editor, two years after Wambora joined as Citizen TV's news anchor, where he was in charge of digital and on-air stories as well as overseeing the smooth running of RMS's sports desk on a daily basis.

He joined Homeboyz Radio in 2015 as a reporter and football presenter before Radio Africa acquired a controlling stake in the station in 2018. In 2019, Njiru joined Radio Africa as its sports reporter and has been there ever since.

The staunch Liverpool fan hosts HBR Fanzone every Saturday alongside Lotan Salapei, Zuhum Omar and DJ John.

"HBR Fanzone is now the biggest football show we have in Kenya. It's for the fans by the fans. We try to enjoy ourselves as much as possible by discussing the English Premier League every Saturday as we warm up guys for the matchday.

"It's a top trend every Saturday because of the passion shown by the hosts (Zuhum, Lotan, John and Zaq the producer) and our listeners. DJ John and G Money are the brains behind this show and we are looking to take it to the next level," he revealed in a past interview.

In 2018, Njiru's story of Lawrence Masira, a Kenyan boy from Nairobi, went viral after he took a photo of the boy donning a handmade Arsenal jersey with the name of former Germany and Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil and his number at Arsenal (10) written on the back with a marker pen.

Eric Njiru presenting Arsenal jerseys and boots to Lawrence Masira and his younger brother as gifted by Mesut Ozil in 2019. /FILE

At that time, Masira was herding cows along one of the roads in the Kenyan capital. Njiru uploaded the photo of the child and his 'jersey' to Twitter, tagging both Arsenal and Ozil and relayed what a staunch Gunners fan Masira was and how he had expressed a desire to one day meet Ozil.

"The picture of a Kenyan boy with a self-made shirt on Twitter touched me so much. And look at Lawrence now - it's so heartwarming to see him and his brothers happy," Ozil wrote at the time.

Then at Arsenal, Ozil responded the following year by buying merchandise for Masira and his younger brother. Njiru was tasked with delivering the gifts of the Gunners' jerseys and boots to the overjoyed boys.

What also makes him popular both as a fan favourite and a rival is his relentless banter towards Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea fans who make up the largest percentage of EPL football fans in Kenya.

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.

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 sports journalist will be expected to continue from the impressive coverage he left off during the tournament.

"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, 2022.

Njiru attributes sports journalism as the best job in the world of journalism whereby one is paid to do something one loves and they will never feel like they are working.

"I'd advise all the budding journalists to go for it. They have an advantage now because you don't require to be employed in a media house for you to do something unlike a few years ago," he recommended.

Eric Njiru at Homeboyz Radio studios. /FILE