Prior to joining the media profession, K24 TV Swahili journalist Joab Mwaura worked as a boda boda rider.
The reporter, famed for his show 'Mgaagaa na Upwa’, ventured into the business after clearing high school in 2005.
Joab decided to run away from home and headed to Nyahururu town against his father's wishes to stay home and look after cattle.
According to the journalist, his father wanted him to wait for his admission letter to attend a teacher's college.
This, he explained was not the path he chose as he always wanted to be a journalist.
In Nyahururu town, he stayed with a friend who later kicked him out after two weeks. It is at this point that Joab rented a bicycle and started a business of ferrying people's goods from the market to their homes.
He was able to raise enough funds to rent a motorcycle and upgraded to the boda boda business.
Among the challenges he encountered was when customers would avoid boarding because of his small body size - people doubted his ability to carry them.
The reporter recalled that he once fell with a client who was so angry that he hit him on his back and failed to pay the Ksh10 fare.
During this period, he was taken in by a family in the town who gave him a job to wash their car.
In the car washing business, he once rode a client's car and hit a wall and was charged Ksh3,000 for damages.
In addition to the jobs, he engaged in unscrupulous businesses while living in the Mukuru Kaiyaba slums.
He narrated how he would sell milk mixed with flour and blueband in a bid to make more profits.
In August, 2018, Joab tied the knot with his colleague Swahili anchor Nancy Onyancha.
