"Before gold becomes gold, it must pass through fire," can be used to describe what news anchors and journalists, in general, have to go through, before they achieve greatness.
True to these words, Citizen TV news anchor and reporter Hassan Mugambi, in a live interview on Instagram on Wednesday evening, May 20, narrated his career journey, from the time he was a broadcaster at Pamoja FM in Kibra to becoming an anchor and award-winning crime reporter in Kenya's leading TV station.
The news anchor, who was born and raised in one of the largest urban slums in Africa, Kibera, narrated his life journey to the media personality he had grown to become.
"I was born and brought up in Kibra. At some point in my life, I went to Meru for boarding school in Class Five to Form Four.
"I later joined the East Africa School of Journalism and afterward went to the University of Nairobi, still studying journalism," Mugambi disclosed.
After his studies, the news anchor landed a job at Pamoja FM, a community-based radio station based in Kibra. He used the platform to master the Swahili language, which he stated he fell in love with.
"While I was still at the station, CGTN which at the time was called CCTV, raided leading media stations of their journalists including K24, Nation and Citizen," he stated.
Having this information in mind, Mugambi decided to apply for a position at K24 and accompanied his application with a recording of him reading the news.
Mugambi would later be contacted by the station, who asked him in for a screen test.
"I remember standing up and seeing the number beginning with 020...wondering who was calling me. Then the voice on the other side said, 'Hi, I'm Richard Kagoye from K24.'
"That was like the best phone call I had received in a long time. He told me that I was required to go for a screen test on Sunday and added that I needed to be in a suit," Mugambi narrated.
At the time, the anchor did not own a suit and had to borrow from one of his friends, who worked as a political reporter at IQRA FM.
He went to his friend's house that evening and chose one of the suits that fitted him best from his closet.
On the said Sunday, Mugambi went for the screen test and later got a call informing him that he had passed. He was put on probation for a period of three months before he got a letter confirming him as a news anchor in the station.
The news anchor worked at K24 for five years before he was poached by Citizen TV in 2017.
He is currently at the station, doubling up as a crime reporter and a Swahili news anchor.
Mugambi advises those who want to pursue a journalism career to keep their hope alive and pray about everything.
