Being at the top of your game and consistently is no mean feat especially in a competitive field that is journalism. Before he took a bow, Hussein Mohamed was one of the best journalist Kenya ever produced.
How he conducted interviews was on another level. He has interviewed some of the top politicians in the country and effortlessly left them breaking into a sweat. At one point, Moses Kuria walked out of an interview in a huff after Hussein insisted on playing a video clip where he was inciting youths.
The revered journalist knows just how to ask questions in the most tactical manner possible. In fact, anyone who interviews the deputy president of Kenya William Ruto-who is very skilled in answering and avoiding some questions-will always be reminded how Hussein Mohamed was good at pinning the DP and other politicians. So who is Hussein Mohammed?
Marriage
In 2014, he married Malyun Mohammed in a traditional Islamic ceremony held inside Masjid Nur in South C, Nairobi.
Education
In 2019, he graduated with a Masters in Diplomacy and International Studies from University of Nairobi.
Career
After graduating from college, he looked for a job and sent out applications to all the media houses he knew. While waiting for a job, he bought a DSLR camera and began doing events like burials, weddings and college events. Later he got an interview with Kenya Television Network (KTN) and that was the beginning of his career in the media industry.
Hussein joined Citizen TV in 2008 as a news anchor and show host and worked for the station for a decade. His prowess was evident and he went on to present news with the likes of Janet Mbugua. In his role at Citizen, he read news, hosted Newsnight news bulletin and interviewed top businessmen and politicians in Kenya. In 2016, he interviewed Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Sunday live show. He has also hosted a number of news shows for the station including the Big Question and PM live.
In October 2019, he announced his exit from Royal Media Services. He said it had been a good journey and thanked the viewers for their support and also thanked SK Macharia and all who mentored him at the station.
“I appreciate the support and guidance of RMS Chair S.K. Macharia and vice chair-Gathoni Macharia, the managing director Wachira Waruru, the management, the lands cabinet secretary Farida Karoney who was our boss here a while back,” he said.
As he exited the media house, so many people showered him with praises from Kenyans, the ODM leader Raila Odinga to the deputy president William Ruto.
Hussein said he was taking a break from the media to deal with other projects.
In 2020, it was reported that he moved into consultancy and was part of a new project funded by the United States government through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Former KTN journalist Yusuf Ibrahim stated that he and Mohamed joined the project, Resilience Learning Activity (RLA), individually as consultants.
RLA was aimed at empowering people at the county level ranging from county communication directors to upcoming journalists at the county level.
Awards
In 2018, he won the male media personality of the year at the Somali Glamor Awards.
In 2019, he received the Moran of the burning spear awarded to him by president Uhuru Kenyatta.
