Victor Kinuthia, reporter who struggled with English, lands BBC interview

Victor Kinuthia was ridiculed and bashed after he struggled to express himself as he covered the arrest of Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro but this might have been a blessing in disguise.

Barely a day after he was trending for all the wrong reasons, Kinuthia landed an interview with BBC World Service radio and he was given a chance to give his story of encouragement.

“After trending top tweets, BBC World Service radio in London gave me a call asking for an interview from me in regards to why am trending…” wrote Kinuthia on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, he revealed that the interview went well and he got to share his experience with the world.

“It was a really good interview. I talked about my experience going live on Monday and how my bosses and senior journalists in the industry rallied behind me telling people how the first time is never easy for anyone,” he said.

Kinuthia, a reporter on Inooro TV, a 24-hour Kikuyu vernacular station owned by Royal Media Services (RMS), has now been handed a chance to report live on a morning show.

Earlier, the reporter revealed that he almost ‘gave up’ but encouragement from his bosses gave him the drive to continue.

“I almost gave up when I found myself trending all over after yesterday's 9 pm news. But after receiving calls and texts from my bosses, colleagues, friends and fans I must say am encouraged,” he said.

A number of top journalists lauded his bravery and vowed to make him better with time.

News anchor Hussein Mohamed asked netizens to give Kinuthia a break since it was his first live link.

“In many professions, you hide your mistakes. In journalism, you broadcast them. So give Victor Kinuthia a break. Was his first live link in a chaotic scene.

“He’ll learn like many of us. Let’s revisit this when he makes it in a few years, In Sha Allah,” he wrote.

RMS Editorial Director also shared similar sentiments saying reporting ‘is no walk in the park.’

“I’ve done this for 21 years and I can tell you it’s no walk in the park. Victor found himself in a breaking news situation and gave it his best- his first live report of that kind.

“He’s destined for greatness. Truly proud of him,” he wrote.

MP Nyoro, on his part, said Kinuthia is from his constituency and people should not exaggerate such errors.

 “Victor Kinuthia is my constituent in Kiharu and many times I appear on such a show when we are using vernacular language and I also get a lot of backlash…unaongea Kizungu inakaa Kikuyu…but I can’t change who I am.

“We must be proud of our identities and where we come from….so I want to tell Victor he is one of the best vernacular reporters on Inooro TV…..he was just holding brief the other side,” said the legislator.