Kenya is home to some of the best trained journalists in the world and this is evidenced by the high number of local talents being poached by international media houses. Locally, we have big names who have graced our screens before voluntarily calling it quits or were fired for one reason or the other.
In this article, WoK takes a look at the hustles of top Kenyan female journalists who exited the media industry.
Julie Gichuru
Julie Gathoni Sumira Gichuru was a famous media personality who worked in almost all leading media houses in Kenya. She began her career as a radio presenter at Capital FM before joining Kenya Television Network (KTN) as a reporter. She went on to work at Nation Media Group owned NTV where she hosted ‘You the Jury’ and ‘On the Spot.’ She moved to Citizen TV where she became a prime time 9pm news anchor hosting the Sunday Live News show. However, while at her peak, she quit her job to pursue other personal interests. She is currently the founder and CEO of Arimus Media limited, Mimi Holdings limited and co-founder of Footprints Africa Foundation (FAF). She is also the Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer at MasterCard Foundation.
Janet Mbugua
Janet Mbugua is a renowned Kenyan media personality, entrepreneur and actress. She began her career as a radio presenter at Capital FM before joining ETV in South Africa in 2009 where she hosted a Pan-African current affairs show. She then came back to Kenya and worked at KTN and NTV before joining Citizen TV where she was a lead news anchor alongside Hussein Mohammed. While at the peak of her career at the RMS owned TV Station, she announced her retirement from the media world to pursue other interests. She would take a role at Kenya Red Cross Humanitarian Society and pursued her creative side where she acted in a TV Show named ‘Rush.’ She is the founder and CEO of Media Avenue Limited, Inua Dada Foundation and authored one book titled ‘My First Time.’
Betty Kyalo
She is a veteran media personality and entrepreneur. She began her career as an intern at KTN before being promoted to a sports news anchor. She would then become a prime time news anchor hosting the Fridays 9pm News dubbed ‘The Friday Briefing.’ She later joined K24 where she read the 9pm news and hosted a popular show named ‘Up-close with Betty.’ She quit the job in 2020 during the pandemic to pursue other interests. She is currently the owner of Flair By Betty salon in Kilimani, Aftershave Barbershop in Upperhill, Magic Business Center in CBD and BK Closet – a clothing fashion brand.
Jacque Maribe
The veteran news anchor began her career in September 2009 as a senior political reporter at Mediamax limited owned K24 TV. She then joined Radio Africa Group where she was a political affairs reporter at KISS TV from December 2011 to October 2012. She then joined RMS as a political affairs reporter for Citizen TV and later as prime time news anchor. She resigned from her position following allegations that she was involved in the murder businesswoman. She is currently a content creator and hosts the Jacque Maribe show that airs on her Youtube channel which has over 2,000 subscribers.
