Kenyans have always excelled at the international level whenever an opportunity presents itself and their skills and expertise are required.
They have done incredibly well too in reputable media organisations such as the BBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters gaining experience and bringing it back home.
Kenyans.co.ke sought to profile three prominent Kenyans who have worked for international media organisations and what they currently do.
Yusuf Hassan
The veteran Nairobi politician attended Garissa Primary School in Garissa and later moved to Nairobi’s Aga Khan Primary School before enrolling at Taranganya Secondary School in Kuria for his O Levels.
In his post-secondary education, he holds a Diploma of Higher Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree (BA) in Humanities from the University of Middlesex, in London.
He also obtained a Master of Arts degree (MA) in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford Massachusetts.
In June 1974, the four-time Kamukunji Member of Parliament (MP) got a job as an Announcer/Producer at the Voice of Kenya in Nairobi after which he moved to Arab Times in Kuwait City as a Reporter in January 1978.
From September 1989 to November 1990, BBC World Service in London UK employed him as an Acting Head of Service before he left for the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) in Windhoek in Namibia where he worked as a Director/Senior Controller for two years.
In September 1992, Yusuf joined the Voice of America(VOA) in Washington D.C. in USA and worked as a Senior Editor before having stints as Senior External Media Relations and Public Information Officer for Southern SADC Region between 1994 and 1999.
Before joining politics in 2011, Yusuf joined the United Nations as a Senior Officer in 2008 and was seconded to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a Senior Global Communication Advisor.
His stint at the United Nations came to a halt after he joined the Kenyan Parliament as a Legislator in 2011.
Mohamed Adow
Veteran journalist Mohamed Adow clinched the Wajir South parliamentary seat in the August 9, 2022, general elections.
However, he started his media career as a Garissa correspondent for the Nation in 1996 and rose through the ranks to become a world Al Jazeera correspondent in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe by 2017.
He also worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a correspondent in Nairobi and Ethiopia prior to his appointment in the Qatar-based Al Jazeera.
During most of the appointments, he worked on ethnic-discrimination stories in Northern Kenya against Somalis and also covered the infamous Al Shabaab conflict between Kenya and Somalia.
The lawmaker holds a master’s degree in Media, Communications and Public Relations from the University of Leicester.
He also pursued a master’s degree in public leadership from Havard Kennedy School.
Manaoah Esipisu
Esipisu was born in the Western part of Kenya with a knack for telling stories.
He studied Literature and Political Science at the University of Nairobi, followed by a graduate journalism programme.
He started his professional career at Thomson Reuters where he spent over a decade meeting and interviewing people from all walks of life, ranging from world leaders and business executives to showbiz stars and ordinary people.
From Reuters, Esipisu became the Spokesperson for the Commonwealth Secretariat where he was responsible for media arrangements for Commonwealth Heads of Government and effectively bolstered his interaction with leaders and global issues.
His position as public affairs adviser to the President of the African Development Bank acted as a stepping stone towards a diplomatic career and, in his own words, “helped prepare me to be Spokesperson to the President of Kenya.”
He was appointed in 2013 as the first head of the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit (PSCU) that replaced the Presidential Press Service (PPS) and is currently the current Kenyan Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
