Enock Sikolia is one of the top rated journalist in the country who has worked for leading media houses both locally and internationally.
Known for his English and Swahili language proficiency Sikolia’s coverage is always deep, and insightful. And perhaps this is the reason why he has had relatively longer stints in the media houses he has worked for.
Age
Sikolia’s age is unknown but he is presumably in his late 30’s. He celebrates his birthday on 26th of September.
Education
Details on Sikolia’s primary school education remain unknown. For secondary education, he studied at Kimilili Boys High School located in Bungoma county. In between 2004-2008, Sikolia pursued a bachelors of science in medical laboratory science at Kenyatta University.
He studied investigative journalism in Netherlands at RNTC media training centre then studied war journalism in Turkey.
Family
According to his LinkedIn profile, Sikolia was born in Kakamega. He is married to a woman identified as Nzuka, the couple occasionally flaunt their photos on social media but have kept details on their matrimony under tight wraps.
Controversies
In 2015, blogger Robert Alai alleged Enock Sikolia studied in Nairobi Aviation College after an exposé brought to light the fraudulent certificates that were claimed to be issued by the institution. This prompted Sikolia to set records straight, saying he studied at the institution for a short span before quitting.
“I have one degree – Bsc Medical Lab Science – from KU. I quit Nairobi Aviation College after a year for personal reasons,” Sikolia said.
Though Sikolia had always steered clear of online controversy, in 2016 he found himself being mentioned by a lady identified as Dorcas Sarkozy who claimed he wanted an intimate relationship with her. This notwithstanding that Sikolia was in marriage. Sarkozy revealed a message she had allegedly received from Sikolia’s wife.
“You must be a beautiful and wonderful gal if you won Enock’s heart to the extent of leaving a woman he has kept in his house close to a year and seven months pregnant,” the message read.
Media Career
When pursuing his medical laboratory science degree at Kenyatta University, Sikolia used to commentate various inter-school football matches. After campus, he was employed at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital laboratory department for a year before he switched to media.
It is not known why he chose to pursue journalism, but in a past Facebook post he said he has never regretted the decision.
“I switched career from being a medical laboratory scientist to a journalist and given another chance I would do the same. Telling the African story is my passion,” he said in a post dated May 2020.
He got employed at Nation Media Group in 2012 where he built his career under the mentorship of Bull’s Eye Emmanuel Juma who mounted Sikolia’s ladder.
But as a newbie and in a field where one broadcasts his flaws, at one time, Kalekye Mumo wanted NTV to fire Sikolia claiming he wasn’t good in English.
“Okay NTV, you need to pull off that journalist reporting Kibera. What is he saying?” Kalekye insinuated.
However, Sikolia who was embarrassed following the incident used the shame as fuel to his ambitions as he worked hard to become a self accomplished journalist.
“I actually blessed her that day. She thought she was humiliating me but in real sense she made me work harder,” Sikolia said.
At NTV, Sikolia made phenomenal steps and won the CNN Multichoice African journalist of the year 2015. As his star was rising, he was promoted to the position of a senior reporter in 2017.
In 2018, he was hired by Royal Media Services (Citizen TV) and impressed in political, environmental and health news coverage. In 2019 he was feted at the annual journalism excellence award. His unmatched and deep reporting on COVID-19 in Kenya earned a presidential order of service award.
In August 2020, Enock Sikolia left Citizen TV and was employed at CGTN Africa where he currently works. He covers human life stories centred on environment conservation and health.
