By Prudence Minayo
“I once read that in order to make it, one needs to start small and have an iron will to succeed, this is what kept me going,” remarked Purity Museo in a past interview. This is how media personality and journalist Purity Museo encouraged herself when she began her media career as a volunteer. Today, she is one of the most sought after journalists working for the State owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC).
Background and Education
The journalist was born in Tseikuru, a village in Mwingi She attended Musavani Primary School. From early on, she had a desire to read news on TV one day. Purity even asked her mother if she could study journalism immediately after completing her Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations (KCPE). Watching journalist Zain Asher on CNN just ignited this dream further.
After working hard in high school, she joined Moi University, Eldoret. At the university, she was the leader of a special scribes group called Third Eye. She graduated in 2016.
Family
Purity lost her parents years ago. She has a twin brother whom she lived with in Nairobi while seeking employment.
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Career
Knowing that a job would not deliver itself on her doorstep, she set out to look for employment soon after completing university. She walked to the headquarters of Ebru TV and began chatting with the soldier. Knowing that hundreds of job-seekers were looking for employment opportunities at the station, Museo told the soldier she was there to look for an opportunity to volunteer. That is how she found herself working at Ebru TV on weekends. She then began a health feature that did quite well.
Museo’s work ethics impressed her bosses and she began volunteering from Monday to Saturday. She then began taking home a monthly income of Ksh5,000.
On December 31st 2017, she finally got the opportunity she had been patiently waiting for. A news anchor called in sick and she had to step up and read the 9pm news. Though nervous, she did an amazing job and ended up reading news for the whole week. A contract was drawn up and she began earning Ksh20,000 monthly plus other peaks.
In 2018, she moved to KBC where she works as a news anchor to date.
Her journey has not been smooth. Once she was removed from anchoring and became a field reporter due to her accent.
Awards
In 2021, she scooped two awards at Zikomo awards in Zambia, they are:
- Best TV Personality in Africa Award
- The Lifetime Achievement Award
On 1st June 2020, the president Uhuru Kenyatta issued an executive order and established a new national award and state Commendation presidential order of service, Uzalendo Award. 68 professionals received this award owing to their contributions in mitigating the spread of Covid-19 virus. Purity Museo was among the 68 professionals feted with the award.
Upon receiving the award, she could not hide her joy and expressed her feelings on her social media platforms. She recounted how in 2011 she worked as a house help and encouraged her followers not to give up.
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Stalker
On 22nd September, she shared her frustration concerning a man she considers a stalker. According to the anchor, the man who goes by the name Free German2 on Twitter, has several pictures of her in his bedroom. He also posts her photos and tags her. Every time she blocks him, he re-surfaces with a new account.
Fellow Kenyans. I need help to stop this man! He has my photos in his room and when I block him he creates new accounts and tags me in these posts. I don’t know him. I have warned him severally in vain . I don’t find this normal. His new account is @FreeGerman2 @DCI_Kenya pic.twitter.com/jKm32Luhzh
— Purity Museo (@purity_museo) September 22, 2021
“Fellow Kenyans, I need help to stop this man! He has my photos in his room and when I block him he creates new accounts and tags me in these posts. I don’t know him. I have warned him severally in vain. I don’t find this normal,” read part of her tweet.
Working as a Househelp To Raise University Fees
At one point in her life, Purity Museo worked as a househelp to raise school fees to pay for her journalism course. Taking to Instagram, the news anchor encouraged her fans not to give up and work on their dreams “with patience”, adding that “it is a journey”.
Her post read:
”This girl was once a house girl to a beautiful Kikuyu lady who had an Egyptian husband in Mtwapa. Cooking for them, washing those dishes, clothes and their big house with gladness because I had a dream: By all means I had to get school fees to study Journalism and be where I am today. It can only get better.”
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