Former NTV Journalist Winnie Mukami Hawked Porridge to Survive

A former NTV journalist revealed that she used to hawk uji (porridge) to construction workers before she secured formal employment. 

Winnie Mukami told People Daily during an interview that she would walk around Kitengela looking for construction sites where she would sell her porridge.

She used the meagre earnings from the business to support her parents and three siblings. 

The tough life later drove her to seek employment at an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) as a tailor. 

In 2001, she stumbled upon a poster calling for applications at the national broadcaster KBC, which she heeded to. 

She beat over 1000 applicants who had applied and also made it through the auditions and was hired after undergoing multiple phases of the recruitment process. 

After two years of presenting on TV and hosting radio programs at KBC, she moved to NTV which was then known as Nation TV

It is at Nation Media Group that her star shinned as her ratings were high and often ranked as one of the top anchors alongside Katherine Kasavuli, Swaleh Mdoe, Sophie Ikenye and Louis Otieno amongst others. 

The ex-news anchor narrated that her most memorable TV experience was during the 2007 PEV when she had to be in the studio all day reporting on the sad news as it unravelled. 

“I remember how a couple of my colleagues at some point could not make it to work as they were stranded in their homes as a result of the chaos across the country,” recollected Mukami.

She also bravely broke the news about President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy William Ruto's implication in the violence

“I can tell you I had butterflies in my stomach. But I had to deliver the news boldly and authoritatively,” she recounted. 

The media personality left NTV in 2010 after seven years following a retrenchment to pave way for a new breed of journalists. 

“I enjoyed my time in the media and when my time was up, I embraced it and started thinking of a way forward. Now I am an established businesswoman who also thinks of how to give back to the community, even though getting here has not been an easy task,” explained Mukami.

She resurfaced on media publications in 2018 when she was appointed to the board of Kenya Pipeline Company for a period of three years. 

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