Kenyan journalists are highly praised for their excellence in storytelling. This testament can be attributed to the high number of international and local awards they have bagged in their careers.
Royal Media Services owned Citizen TV journalists have been some of the most successful in their careers, having worked both locally and internationally, enriching their knowledge and experiences in the media industry.
Their hard work has, in many instances, paid off, earning them a mark on the global list of outstanding journalists.
Below is a list of Citizen TV journalists who have been recognized on the global stage.
Jeff Koinange
The celebrated news anchor is famed for his JKlive show and the famous phrase ‘Oh my...’. He has cemented his reputation in the international space to being an accomplished journalist from Kenya.
Koinange became the first African to win the 2005 television Emmy Award while working for the Cable News Network (CNN), covering the famine crises in Niger. He openly recognizes this award as his best in his book; Through My African Eyes.
In the same year, he bagged the George Foster Peabody Awards, otherwise known as Peabody Awards, following his story covering the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2006, he received two international awards: Vernon Jarrett Bronze Medal, which recognizes outstanding journalists of African descent, and the Prix Bayeaux for War Correspondents.
Other outstanding recognitions include being a finalist in the Diageo Awards for Business Reporting in Africa.
Mashirima Kapombe
She is famed for her Friday night show, where she challenges the audience to tell the meanings of some Swahili words, and later on, brings on experts to explain the same and their usage. However, few individuals are aware of her international awards and how she bagged them.
On October 13 this year, the bi-lingual newsreader and reporter won the 2021 African Journalist Gender Equality Award after her report, Halfway Haven Story, emerged victoriously.
According to Kapombe, who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, the inspiration for the story was drawn from her previous year’s coverage.
However, this was not her first award. In October 2020, she bagged the Merck Foundation Media Recognition Award alongside her former colleague, Dorcas Wangira. She was also awarded a cash prize of Ksh54,000.
The story that catapulted her to the global front focused on the rising cases of Gender-Based Violence since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Waihiga Mwaura
Most people always remember him for the investigative piece on ‘Mara Heist’ that highlighted the deeply rooted corruption at the Maasai Mara University. Waihiga is not new to awards as he has previously bagged four prestigious ones.
He became the first Kenyan to win the highly coveted British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) World News Komla Dumor Award in 2018. The award was started in honor of the late Ghanaian journalist Komla Dumor, who worked for the BBC.
In 2015, Waihiga won the Mo Amin Africa Award. In 2012, he won the CNN Multichoice Award while still working as a sports journalist.
Victoria Rubadiri
Rubadiri is highly known for her compelling stories and mastery of English diction. The anchor, who is on a three-month break, co-anchors the Sunday news on Citizen TV alongside Jeff Koinange, a show that has gained popularity across the country.
In September 2020, she became the second Kenyan, after her colleague Waihiga Mwaura, to win the BBC World News Komla Dumor Award.
According to the judges, her eloquence and passion for telling African stories was the reason behind her fete. She is currently in London undergoing a three-month training since bagging the award.
