SNAPPY 7: Muthoni Muchiri – Meet Nairobi’s newest news anchor
At the young age of 22 years, Daily Nation’s online digital writer, Muthoni Muchiri, has just started to anchor news for Nairobi News bulletins which airs online every evening.
If her face looks familiar, it’s because she has her own YouTube show and is also a vivid blogger. In an interview with Nairobi News, she opens up about herself:
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself – I grew up in Nairobi with my three siblings, but my family traveled a lot. I graduated from the university of South Wales in Australia were with a degree in Journalism and Communications. After I graduated I just knew that I wanted to come back home. Growing up, my siblings and I went for Kikuyu lessons but still I cannot speak it well, I float around a lot.
2. Fashion – I’m more into trousers and more of a practical chic elegance if I have to pick one. My hair is natural and it’s been like this for as long as I can remember. One day I relaxed my hair and then went swimming and my hair was left in the pool.
3. What do you do when you’re not working and can you cook – I enjoy traveling a lot and if I’m not, I like to spend time with my siblings and my close friends because we are very close. Apart from that I spend time updating my YouTube channel and learning certain skills like editing and anything more that I can learn online. I can’t make round chapatis, but I can defiantly cook.
4. Why did you choose Journalism – My first job was in a clothing store as a sales girl. I enjoy storytelling, meeting new people and travelling a lot. I like to know why people ended up where they did and to me Journalism gives you that and also gives someone the opportunity to present a story to people who didn’t know.
I’m very happy to be in Kenya, growing here and making a name for myself here. Apart from presenting news for Nairobi News every evening I also do digital writing for Daily Nation where I do restaurant reviews. I like it because I get to go to a restaurant, eat and then write about it.
5. Do you work out – If there is a type if exercise I do is walk. I walk a lot, but when I was in high school I used to swim, play hockey, rounder’s and netball but when I joined university all that stopped.
6. Who inspires you and what are your future plans – The one person who has and still continues to inspire despite his passing on is Komla Afeke Dumor. To me he had the perfect way of storytelling, like from hard stories to features to more human interest stories. He could be seated with world leaders and at the same time be on the streets and just be the same. To me Komla Dumor is the guy.
I would like to do a Masters but I have not yet thought of what. Besides there is still travelling more and being able to tell the stories I want to tell and see places that I haven’t been to, especially here in Africa.
7. What would you tell anyone who wants to follow your footsteps – Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do what you want to do. Diversify and keep trying what you want to just don’t let anyone stop you. Listen to people because they will have different opinions, take it digest it and make your own opinion.
