By Prudence Minayo
Anne Nduta Kiguta is a successful news anchor and talk show host. She has worked for some of the biggest media houses in the country-Standard Media group, Royal Media Services and now K24. Kiguta is a combination of beauty, intelligence and style. The TV girl has worked her way to becoming one of the best female political and economic news anchors Kenya has ever produced.
Some of the powerful personalities she has interviewed are: President Uhuru Kenyatta, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo, the late United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Civil Rights Activist Jesse Jackson and renowned Economist Professor Jeffery Sachs. The celebrated media personality has moderated some international forums, like, World Vision, Save the Child, the UN Habitat’s World Urban Forum and a range of events for UN women. Anne always knew she was meant for great things but didn’t expect to be as successful as she is. While growing up, she always wanted to be the leader during kids’ plays.
Age
She was born on 21 November 1984.
Education
University – Daystar University where she graduated in 2018 with a degree in Public Relations, Communications and Electronic Media.
Secondary – Rusinga High School, Nairobi
Primary – St. Christopher’s Preparatory Primary School.
Family and Background
Anne Kiguta is the last born in a family of four girls but she was not spoiled as her elder sister did not allow it. She enjoyed growing up with her sisters and would often raid Sophie’s (the third born sister) closet for clothes to slay in even if they were baggy. The celebrated journalist was very aggressive and this got her into a lot of trouble with her elder sisters. However, growing up with them was fun, the elder sister encouraged her to aggressively pursue academics, the second born is very keen on details and she borrowed this from her. The third born is very charismatic and knows how to relate to people and she admires this about her. Her family were staunch Christians that did a lot of charity work and this made Anne want to be a lawyer.
Her father was an accountant and she credits her dad for being her role model in terms of hard work and work ethic. Growing up, she was a tomboy but her chosen career path forced her to dress like a professional. She still prefers rugged jeans and comfortable clothes. Anne believes in God and does not understand how some people don’t. However, she is not a regular church goer and prefers small fellowships to big church gatherings.
Also Read: Kenyan Journalists Who Have Worked for International Media Houses
Marriage
The TV siren has never been married but she was once engaged to Michael Ngunyi who was a marketing and advertising guru. Word out there is that she caught her partner cheating and had to break off the engagement.
However, Anne reveals that she was in an abusive relationship but chose to stay for a while because of her daughter. Her partner would beat her even in front of their daughter. At one time, he beat her when she was about to show up live on television. The beating did not stop her from going to work rather she hid the evidence with the help of makeup. When the beating persisted, she decided enough was enough and left without a backward glance. This was the best decision she ever made according to her.
At one time she was rumored to be having an affair with Jomo Gecaga, President Uhuru’s nephew and personal assistant. Speculation started when the two appeared for a movie screening in 2015 hand in hand. During Father’s day, Anne posted a video of Jomo and her daughter having a great bonding session and wished him a great Father’s Day. Shortly afterwards she deleted the video raising eyebrows among many fans and entertainment columnists. Everyone was wondering if they had broken up. It is believed that Jomo Gecaga is the father to her twins, a boy and a girl. She is a mother to three children.
Career
The TV siren started her career at the age of 18. She decided to try her luck at a newly started church Radio station and luckily got the job. The accomplished journalist worked in Hope FM from 2003 to 2006. The task involved carving out a niche audience for a newly founded station in a highly competitive market. She undertook audience research for the station sampling its primary audience and pioneered the establishment of wonderful programs that air to date. She also interned at Hope FM covering stories about local crime which boosted her journalism skills further. She even began anchoring the news bulletin on the breakfast and mid-morning slot while still dabbling on entertainment hosting additional shows on Fridays and Saturdays.
Capital FM
The former radio host joined capital FM where she was tasked with the responsibility of a senior anchor and news reporter.
Standard Media Group
In 2009, she joined standard Media group as a news anchor and reporter. In this role, her duties included
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Monitoring local and international media reports
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Delivering real time news updates on air on breaking news and developing stories
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Sourcing for news stories, conducting interviews and covering news events on location
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To produce and host various news segments including # Checkpoint on Sunday which was competing with Citizen TV’S Sunday live.
#Checkpoint was such a success promoting Citizen TV to hunt for her.
Citizen TV
From 2013, she acted as group digital manager and senior anchor at Citizen TV. Among her duties were writing screen tests and training freshman news anchors. The sultry news anchor took a sabbatical and made a comeback on K24.
K24
Kiguta hosted ‘Punchline’, a political show aired on K24. It covered Kenyan and African political and economic issues. The prominent figures the show hosted included: Deputy President of Kenya William Samoei Ruto, UN Women Kenya Country Director Anna Mutavati, UNCTAD Secretary General Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Kenya’s Defense Secretary Monica Juma, Kenyan Governors, County Assembly Members and Members of Parliament.
She quit the show barely a year after it debuted citing disagreement “owing to a fundamental disagreement on the editorial processes and direction the show was being forced to take”, part of the statement read.
The resignation letter read in full:
Philanthropy
As mentioned earlier, Anne Kiguta was raised in a staunch Christian family where charity was part of their life. Today, she continues with this legacy by working with different charities, such as:
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Kenya Child Nutrition Advocate, Save the Child UK. Under nutrition is the largest contributor to child mortality worldwide and is responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in productivity. Under nutrition prevents children from reaching their full potential and may lead to death. Anne has been has been a great advocate for Kenyan children nutrition
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Another course close to her heart is mentoring young girls and women. She took part in Standard Group’s Eve Sister Mentorship Program where she toured the county mentoring young girls.
Net Worth
While working at Royal Media services, it is believed she pocketed over 650k and she may be earning above 500k in K24. Her estimated Net worth is unknown.
