Top 8 Journalists Who Left Journalism for Government Jobs

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Political leaders often rely on journalists to head communication departments because of their expertise and experience in the field of media and communication.

Journalists are trained to communicate effectively with different audiences. The skills they possess are invaluable in the world of politics, where effective communication is essential to building public support and shaping public opinion.

Journalists also often have a broad network of contacts in the media industry which can be useful in securing favorable coverage for the leaders they work for and in building relationships with journalists and media outlets.

1. Salim Swaleh.

Salim Swaleh is a former Swahili news anchor, producer, and more recently the managing editor at NTV. He has specialized in politics, economics, and African affairs. His mastery of the Swahili language attracted a huge audience.

The former NTV News Anchor Salim Swaleh joined the press team of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi as Director of Communication.

2. Francis Gachuri.

Francis Gachuri is a celebrated Kenyan Journalist who has been working with Royal Media Services for a long time now. He was a senior news reporter at Citizen TV who happens to fall in the category of top journalists in the country.

The senior news reporter has been an inspiration and mentor to many young journalists who would one day wish to reach his level.

He has an interesting voice and presents Political affairs in a unique way, leaving his fans glued to their screens whenever he is reporting.

Gachuri joined the Ministry of Interior and National Administration where he will serve as the head of communication.

3. Nick Gitonga.

Nick Gitonga is a former Citizen Tv news reporter. He worked for eight years as a news reporter. He was known for his fluency in Swahili.

Nick ended his stint at Royal Media Services to work with Kwale governor Fatuma Achani as the Director of Communication and a spokesperson.

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Fatuma Achani is serving as the Kwale county governor for the first term having been elected in the 2022 general elections under UDA party ticket.

4. Karen Karimi.

Karen Karimi is a celebrated media personality who is the former Prime Time news anchor at TV47. She had been a news anchor at TV47 since March 2022, two years after she was fired at the Mediamax-owned TV station K24 TV.

This was during a retrenchment exercise where the beauty queen was among the many journalists who lost their jobs so that the company could survive the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that had ravaged many sectors of the economy then.

Karen Karimi serving under the leadership of Gideon Mung’aro in the capacity of director of communications in the office of the governor. Gideon Mung’aro is the current Kilifi county governor serving in his first term.

5. Kennedy Murithi.

Kennedy Murithi had built a niche for himself as one of the finest political reporters in the country. Murithi had previously served as the director of communication in the country between 2017 and 2018.

The popular journalist Kennedy Murithi left NTV to join Tharaka Nithi county government where he serves as governor Muthomi Njuki ‘s political advisor. Njuki is serving his second term in office.

6. Mike Gitonga

The former KTN News presenter left his role at the standard group-owned office to join the first lady’s office before he was appointed secretary of State Functions.

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At the office of the first lady, Gitonga headed the communications department.

7. Anders Ihachi

The seasoned journalist left Citizen which he had called home since 2018 to serve under the Communication Directorate of the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.