Julie Gichuru Gathoni Sumira is a Kenyan entrepreneur, media personality, fashion retailer and journalist.

Age

Julie Gichuru was born on 7^th January 1974. She was born and raised in Wanyee Estate in Dagoretti, Nairobi.

Family

Gathoni’s mother was of Kikuyu descent while his father was a Kashmiri.

Education

Julie Gichuru first attended St. Christopher’s School in Nairobi before moving to Green Herald School in Bangladesh after her father moved there for military training at the age of eight.

She later came back to Nairobi and attended Karen School before moving to Loreto Convent Msongari in class four. Later on, she convinced her parents to leave the 8-4-4 system to an IGCE boarding school.

 Julie Gichuru joined Imani School where she studied form three and four.  She then got a chance to join USIU and attended two semesters then went to Warwick University for a one-year pre-university course.

Sumira prides herself as a degree owner in LLB law from the Cardiff Law School University of Wales and an MBA from the Cardiff Business School University of Wales.

Career

Julie Gichuru always wanted to be an actress when she was young and joined the Phoenix Theatre in Nairobi but later dropped the classes and studied criminal law. Julie started her media career in Capital FM and later moved to KTN as a reporter and news anchor.

While in KTN, she launched the first Kenyan investigative series, The Inside Story, that focused on corruption and injustices in Kenya.

Julie Gichuru, later on, moved to NTV then to Citizen Television in 2008. While in Citizen, she started her phenomenal show, Sunday Live with Julie that was an instant success. She worked for KBC after her exit unexpected leave from Citizen TV in 2017.

Before her career, she used to own a lifestyle magazine from 2000-2002 known as Quest.

In 2009, while in Citizen TV, she started a show, Fist of Five for Change that saw reconciliation and healing of the 2007 post-election violence victims. Julie and her husband started the Footprints Africa Foundation that informs people of health.

This foundation supports The Great Debaters Contest and many Africa Leadership Dialogues. These events are televised and The FAF also supports the Natembea Campaign.

In 2016, Julie was selected to be a member of the UN Foundation Global Journalist Corps. Over the years, Julie has contributed a great deal in media, broadcasting, and even moderating some of the biggest conversations and debates in Africa. Her work is so diverse and broad in a way that no media personality in Kenya has been able to.

Julie Gichuru’s Salary

Based on all the work she does and positions she holds, Julie Gichuru’s earnings are estimated at 2-3 million per month.

Awards

Martin Luther King Salute to Greatness Award

Marriage and Children

Julie Gichuru Gathoni is married to Anthony Gichuru, a business entrepreneur in a fancy wedding on November 29th, 2003 and blessed with five children. One of the children, David Arthur Mwaura, passed away in 2005 and this really depressed her. The other children are; Daniel, Joseph, Kimoshe, and Njeri Gichuru.