The news of the passing on of former NTV anchor Winnie Mukami has shocked the media fraternity and Kenyans at large.
Though gone, she will not be forgotten as her legacy in the Kenyan media spaces continues to live on, having made immeasurable contributions to the industry.
With a career spanning more than 20 years, both in media and in the corporate sector, Mukami earned her place in the journalists' hall of fame.
Like many, her journey started from the humble beginnings, taking up manual jobs to make ends meet and support her family.
In a previous interview in 2019, Mukami disclosed that before she got formal employment, she had had to engage her entrepreneurial spirit to hawk porridge at construction sites in Kitengela.
Mukami would later seek employment at an Export Processing Zone (EPZ) as a tailor and in 2001, she stumbled upon a poster calling for applications at the national broadcaster KBC. She went for it.
She beat over 1,000 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.
At Nation Media Group, she went on to establish herself as a household name, and was often ranked among top anchors alongside Katherine Kasavuli, Swaleh Mdoe, Sophie Ikenye and Louis Otieno.
In 2007, Mukami reported on the dark chapter of Kenya's history, which was the post-election violence - and which she described as her most memorable TV experience.
"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," she noted at the time.
She left NTV in 2010 after eight years following a retrenchment to pave way for a new breed of journalists.
She founded her own public relations consultancy known as Winners Frontiers International Limited which she ran till her demise.
"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.
Mukami would later go on to make headlines in 2018, when she was appointed to the Kenya Pipeline Company board for a period of three years.
Her appointment came days after former Citizen TV anchor Kanze Dena was appointed as deputy State House Spokesperson and Deputy Head of The Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PSCU).
