Growing up, many kids wish to become various high-ranked professionals, such as pilots, neurosurgeons, and the like. This was no different for former Citizen Tv presenter Waihiga Mwaura whose dream was to become a pilot.
Having been brought up in a family of lawyers, Waihiga revealed people around him expected that he and his two siblings would take up the profession and pass it on through generations.
His parent, however, gave them the freedom to explore opportunities in other fields. In a past interview, he said after his parents moved from Donholm to Westland, he developed an interest in technical sciences.
He later enrolled at Africa Nazarene University to pursue a degree in computer science. He realized IT was not what he wanted and would later give up on his career.
“I knew I was not passionate about IT even before I graduated. I had done an internship with a non-governmental organization before graduation and realized that it was not something I could do for the rest of my life,” said Waihiga.
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His first job was working at a call center for a US internet service provider based along Mombasa Road, Nairobi. His job involved selling internet packages to US citizens. Waihiga served at the call center for nine months before diverting to finance.
“Americans called that number thinking they are speaking to an American about their internet. Maybe that is where I honed my media skills because I would speak for long hours on the phone with Americans, so my accent changed as I tried to convince them to buy internet packages,” he added.
His parents recommended him for another job at a local bank, where he served as a cashier. It was in this profession that Waihiga got exposed to media personalities and started to develop an interest for media.
“I remember artists and supermodels like Miss Kenya would come to the branch, and I would see the kind of cheques they were withdrawing…
“I would even do some transactions for some media houses, and I would see these guys coming in all flamboyant. I thought to myself, what does it take to be in that sector?” he recalled.
He recalled telling his supervisor that one day he would become a media personality, but his boss laughed him off as it seemed impossible.
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Waihiga worked for about a year at the bank before quitting to actualize his dream of working in the media industry. Having not been in a media class, media felt far removed.
He resorted to acting even as he asked around for media internships and dropped his CV at media houses.
It is during this period which he refers to as a ‘wilderness experience’, that he got his first call to audition for a show on Citizen TV. Unfortunately, he did not get the callback.
Always the optimist, he reveals that this period allowed him to trust in God and learn how to survive on little money.
“I am grateful that my parents did not kick me out during that time because to them, I had refused to get a job despite having gone to school to chase my passion,” he recounts.
The producer of the show saw potential in him and recommended him when the next auditions came around. He was finally picked to host the Zinduka show on Citizen Tv, an opportunity he was very excited about.
After two seasons of Zinduka, Waihiga landed another job within the organization, and he joined the power breakfast show, where he worked for two years.
From Power Breakfast, Waihiga fully joined the sports desk as a producer and anchor for seven years. At the time, he scooped the CNN Multichoice Award in 2012 for a story based on Maasai Cricket Warriors.
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“I was always aware of my lack of formal media training, so I kept taking every opportunity to learn. I applied for training programs and talked to seasoned journalists. I was also very persistent and strove to bring something unique to the table,” he said.
In January 2017, another opportunity presented itself, and he climbed up the ladder to become a news anchor. He started hosting Citizen Extra and later became the News Night presenter, a role he took until his exit at Citizen Tv on 2nd May 2023.
He Quit Citizen for another assignment at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). At the time of his exit, Waihiga had served at Citizen TV for 14 years.
Throughout his career, he has scooped various prestigious awards, including the 2019 UBA award, the BBC World News 2018 Komla Dumor, and the 2015 Mo Amin Africa awards.
He is the current Focus on Africa presenter at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
