BBC has heaped praises on Waihiga Mwaura after recruiting the Citizen TV news anchor who worked with the Kenyan media house for more than 14 years.
In a tweet, BBC News Africa said the “talented” journalist will present Focus on Africa TV from Nairobi. “He is a respected journalist and a former winner of the prestigious BBC News Komla Dumor award,” said BBC News Africa. “We are thrilled he’s joining our team”.
In a statement, the news anchor said he would be presenting his last Citizen TV evening news bulletin on May 2, a day before the World Press Freedom Day.
“I am delighted to let you know that Waihiga Mwaura will be the new presenter of Focus on Africa TV. Waihiga is a respected, award-winning, and talented Kenyan journalist with engaging storytelling and presentation skills,” said Alice Muthengi of the BBC.
Before joining Citizen TV’s current affairs programmes and becoming a news anchor in 2017, Mwaura cut his teeth at the station as a sports journalist and stayed there for seven years winning awards.
As the NewsNight anchor on Citizen TV, Mwaura interacted with a diversity of subjects and people, further helping him to appeal to the listenership and media owners keen on tapping top talent as competition in the industry gathers pace.
A year into news reading, he won the BBC World News 2018 Komla Dumor award, helping him to appeal more to the British broadcaster that has employed many Kenyans on its radio, TV, and digital news platforms broadcasting in English, Kiswahili and other local dialects. Dumor, a Ghanaian who died in 2014, was BBC’s main presenter of Focus on Africa.
The BBC has, over the years, picked Kenyan journalists, a step that has defined growth due to the station’s global reach.
A few years ago, BBC hired Larry Madowo as one of its correspondents but the former NTV Kenya technology editor and news anchor stayed there for less than two years before joining CNN.
Some of the well-known Kenyans who have worked with the BBC or are still with the broadcaster include Joseph Warungu, Solomon Mugera, Tom Japani, Wanyama Chebusiri, Sophie Ikenye, Odeo Sirari, and Muliro Telewa.
Others are Zawadi Mudibo, Anne Ngugi, Roncliff Odit, and Anne Soy.
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