Citizen TV Clarifies Neglecting Purity Mwambia After Speaking in Exile

A photo collage of Citizen TV studios in Nairobi County (left) and investigative journalist Purity Mwambia speaking at a forum organised by the US State Department on June 1 2023.
A screengrab of Citizen TV studios in Nairobi County (left) and investigative journalist Purity Mwambia speaking at a forum organised by the US State Department on May 30, 2023 (right).
Kenyans.co.ke

Citizen TV denied reports that it had abandoned investigative journalist, Purity Mwambia, who was exiled after an expose on rogue cops.

Speaking exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke, a source at the station based in Kilimani maintained that the award-winning journalist was still part of the team at Royal Media Services (RMS).

According to the source, Mwambia had also denied earlier reports that suggested that the station abandoned and neglected her in the US.

However, no official statement on Mwambia's stance could be accessed by Kenyans.co.ke by the time of publication.

Purity Mwambia (Right in suit) during a media discussion forum organised by the US State Department on Wednesday May 30, 2023
Purity Mwambia (Far Right in suit) during a media discussion forum organised by the US State Department on Tuesday, May 30, 2023.
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State Department

"Yes, she is still an employee," the source stated.

The clarification by the station came hours after the journalist opened up for the first time on her whereabouts and living conditions in exile.

While speaking at a US State Department event on May 30, the Citizen TV journalist narrated her challenges, having been in exile for two years.

She noted that the organisation that took her took the US dropped her during her stay abroad. Notably, she did not indicate whether the organisation that took her to the US was Citizen TV or another entity.

"Personally, I was brought here by an organisation, and they dropped me. I am on the verge of being homeless because I don't know what to do next.

"Every day when I walk past metro and I see all those homeless people is one of those stories that, as a journalist, I would have wished to tell but I now I'm just walking like literally I'm in their shoes, not knowing what will happen next to me," she stated.

Mwambia fled the country after her investigative story, Guns Galore, saw her get death threats from rogue officers who were exposed for hiring their guns to criminal gangs in the city.

Notably, the story done in April 2021 earned her the Investigative Reporting Award at the Annual Journalism Excellence Awards (AJEA) organised by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) in May 2022.

A photo of Citizen TV journalist Purity Mwambia at the station based in Kilimani on June 2020.
A photo of Citizen TV journalist Purity Mwambia at the station based in Kilimani on June 2020.
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Purity Mwambia
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