Purity Mwambia & 3 Journalists Who Admitted to Struggling After Big Exposés

A collage of journalists (from left) John-Allan Namu, Purity Mwambia, and Mohammed Ali.
A collage of journalists (from left) John-Allan Namu, Purity Mwambia, and Mohammed Ali.
Kenyans.co.ke

Journalists have been known to travel far and wide to bring important stories to their audiences.

In the course of their work, they produce explosive stories that put them in the crosshairs of politicians or their subjects who hold immense power.

Some journalists have been hounded by powerful politicians, rogue law enforcement officers, and in some cases criminals for exposing their nefarious activities.

Some of the journalists who have expressed fear for their lives after doing big exposes include Purity Mwambia, Mohammed Ali, John-Allan Namu, and Dennis Okari.

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

Purity Mwambia

On May 30, 2023, Purity Mwambia revealed that she escaped from Kenya to the USA in 2021 after exposing police officers for working in cahoots with criminals in an investigative piece titled ‘Guns Galore’.

While speaking at a forum organised by the US State Department, she stated that she was flown to the US by an unidentified organisation after facing threats to her life.

However, the organisation stopped supporting her after a while living her vulnerable and on the verge of homelessness.

She confirmed that she still receives support from Citizen TV where she still works.

 John-Allan Namu

An over-the-shoulder shot of investigative journalist John-Allan Namu conducting an interview.
An over-the-shoulder shot of investigative journalist John-Allan Namu conducting an interview.
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John-Allan Namu

In 2009, John-Allan Namu and Mohammed Ali did ‘The Rogue Tracker’, a KTN programme that exposed unscrupulous dealers using car-tracking devices for the crime.

He, soon after, went into hiding in a foreign country because some of the criminals he had exposed were baying for his blood.

In 2017, he confessed that the two had sought refuge in Europe.

For his journalistic exploits, Namu has been the recipient of various awards including the 2009 CNN African Journalist of the Year, the 2015 Journalist of the Year award from the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), and the 2019 Global Shining Light Award.

 Mohammed Ali

Nyali MP Mohammed Ali during a meeting at a Nairobi hotel on April 17, 2023.
Nyali MP Mohammed Ali during a meeting at a Nairobi hotel on April 17, 2023.
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Mohammed Ali

He also went into hiding in Europe in connection with ‘The Rogue Tracker’ exposé he uncovered alongside John Allan Namu.

Ali is also famous for doing the ‘Jicho Pevu investigative shows that lifted the lid on corruption within and without the Government.

In December 2015, he declared that his life was in danger after producing a series of shows. Even after ascending to Parliament as Nyali MP, Ali claimed that his life remained in danger.

"Yet again, for the fifth time, there has been an attack on my office. This is a clear indication that the person/people behind this attempt on my life are relentless to take me down. 

"What they forget is, no human being can take the life of another except by the will of God," he stated in a statement.

Dennis Okari

Dennis Okari during an interview during the Social Newsroom podcast on Thursday, December 15, 2022
Dennis Okari during an interview during the Social Newsroom podcast on Thursday, December 15, 2022.
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Dennis Okari

On December 15, 2022, while speaking on the Social Newsroom, Okari revealed the emotional toll that covering the Garissa University attack which happened on April 2, 2015, had on his health.

Being one of the few journalists who covered the aftermath of the attack, he recalled breaking down in tears after seeing pictures of the victims. He was psychologically affected by the events 

The investigative piece titled ‘Children of a lesser god’ affected him psychologically during his covering the lives of the victims and their families. At that time, he was working at NTV.

That story was featured in a book titled ‘Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group’ by Stig Jarle Hansen.

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