Citizen TV undercover journalist, Purity Mwambia, on Tuesday, May 30, opened up about her plight in the US after fleeing the country.
Speaking during a forum organised by the US State Department, Mwambia, who exposed police officers hiring out firearms in her Guns Galore exposé, claimed that she was flown to the US by an organisation two years ago after facing life threats.
However, the organisation dropped her in the US, where she was exiled. The situation devastated her as she struggled to find another job in exile.
According to Mwambia, the situation worsened, pushing her on the verge of becoming homeless.
“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!” Mwambia alleged.
“Believe me, I am on the verge of being homeless because I don’t know what to do next. Every day when I walk past metro and I see all those homeless people is one of those stories that, as a journalist, I would have wished to tell but I now I’m just walking like literally I’m in their shoes, not knowing what will happen next to me,” she added.
Besides facing financial constraints, Mwambia told the panellists that she felt secluded as her experience and achievements almost became irrelevant in the foreign country.
She lamented that her 20 years of experience was almost going down the drain.
“But I am still holding on because this is one of those stories you would wish to tell after going through this hard process, and you have been working with all these big media houses, but when you get here, you are treated like you are not their equal.
“You feel like 20 years of experience as a journalist has gone to waste,” she emotionally stated.
Back in Kenya, Mwambia revealed that trolls and cyberbullies had targeted her after her exposé was aired on Citizen TV. In one instance, Mwambia noted that some false and misleading social media hashtags were created to allege she was dead.
Lack of networks and working opportunities had thrown some exiled journalists into depression and other mental health struggles.
Before fleeing the country, the Citizen TV journalist exposed how Kenyans colluded with law enforcement officers to violate pandemic protocols. She exposed police officers soliciting bribes to allow Kenyans to travel when the country was on the lookdown.
To address some of the challenges, Mwambia implored the State Department to create a networking platform, offer financial aid and give them an opportunity to advance and tell stories while in exile.
“The State Department would be able to help us journalists who are in exile is maybe being able to work with our colleagues because when you first land here you don’t know where to go,” Mwambia stated
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