JOURNALIST PURITY MWAMBIA ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING HOMELESS

Citizen TV’s investigative journalist, Purity Mwambia, on May 30, opened up about her life in the US after fleeing from Kenya.

Purity was part of a panel discussion hosted by the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, she claimed that she was flown to the US by an organisation two years ago after facing threats.  “Thank you for this opportunity. My challenges are not very different from other investigative journalists in exile. First of all, when you come here from your country where you’ve done big stories, you’ve quoted all these people who are doing some corruption, big shots in the government… but believe me, when you come here, it’s like your voice is silenced. It’s hard to navigate the US media landscape, especially for global journalists. It’s so hard.” she said.

The organisation which took her to the U.S has not helped her and her situation worsened, “I have been here for the last two years, and it is only one story that I have been able to do with one of the local companies. Those who get here, some say it’s like you are getting that American dream, but it has its own challenges. You find yourself in a space where there is no one you can be able to speak to and run to. Personally, I was brought here by an organisation, and they dropped me!

I am on the verge of being homeless because I don’t know what to do next. Every day when I walk past the metro, I see all those homeless people is one of those stories that, as a journalist, I would have wished to tell but I know I’m just walking like literally I’m in their shoes, not knowing what will happen next to me. But I am still holding on because this is one of those stories you would wish to tell after going through this hard process,” she stated.

Mwambia went into exile in 2021 after her exposé Guns Galore shed light on how rogue police officers and soldiers were hiring out their guns to thugs.