Journalist whose opinion counts

Uduak Amimo when she graduated with her first degree

She is so confident and on point while on TV, she may come off as arrogant and domineering, but far from it. UDUAK AMIMO is so warm one would want to have a chat with her over some good coffee, as DAVID ODONGO finds out

On cold Tuesday morning, I head to Yaya Centre to meet one of Kenya’s famous TV personalities, Uduak Amimo. She had sent me a text to confirm the meeting, slated for eight in the morning at one of the cosy restaurants.   Immediately I settle down, Uduak sends another text — she wants us to meet at a different coffee house, so that she can have breakfast. I head there. I scan around the restaurant and my eyes settle on her. She is glued on her blackberry. I gently tap her on the shoulders and I’m received with a friendly smile. “Are you David? Please have a seat, I am just having my breakfast,” she says warmly. “Please join me.”

Uduak is dressed in a navy blue splendid suit, which she has accesorised stylishly with golden earrings. It’s complimented with a golden ring that glints on her middle finger. Her simple and elegant look compliments her light brown hair style.

Uduak has taken some time off from her busy schedule for this two-hour  interview. Seated alone with her, with no studio cameras, Uduak is obliging and chatty. She comes off as approachable and down-to-earth.

“I am sure many men would be surprised to learn how approachable you are?” I start off.

“My mum told me I must find a man whom I respect and who won’t be intimidated by me,” she opens up about her life.

“Have you ever gotten bored in a relationship before?” I ask her.

“Mmmh, I will not answer that, but what I can say is that what is happening in the country right now is worrying. There is so much promiscuity. People think that if they desire you, they have a right to you,”  says Uduak.

Nigerian father

But who is this confident journalist?

Born to a Kenyan mother and Nigerian father, Uduak says her teen years were troubled, which is why she is now mentor to high school girls.

“I grew up living with my parents but mostly with relatives. I was named after my great grandmother, Amimo. Uduak is a Nigerian name that means, God’s will. I haven’t been there in a long time,” she reveals. 

Uduak began her schooling at Lavington Primary School before she was transferred to Roosevelt Elementary School in Iowa, where she spent three years.

She then returned to Kenya and was enrolled at St George’s Primary School in Nairobi before moving to the Nigerian Navy Secondary School in Lagos. She completed her schooling at Bunyore Girls High School in Western Kenya.

“After my secondary school, I applied and got admission into a South African University, but it was when apartheid was just ending and the South African embassy denied me a visa. My uncle advised me to join USIU and study International Relations as I wait to eventually do my Law degree,” recalls Uduak.

She joined USIU where she studied International Relations after which she started her first job as a TV producer with Reuters in Nairobi and then later won a scholarship to study for a Master of Arts in Communications and Public Policy at the American University in Washington.

“My teenage years were turbulent, and it calmed when I joined university. In my third year at USIU, together with a few other students, we founded the university newspaper, which is still being published to date,” says Uduak.

Her interest in journalism grew stronger when she was in campus and noticed how international media covered Africa.

“I was frustrated with how Africa was being covered and that’s how I fell in love with journalism. I got a chance to horn my skills at the Reuters, Africa Journal magazine programme, where I interned,” says Uduak.

Highlights of her career

In the course of her job, she has interviewed many prominent people but the most interesting interview she has ever conducted was with Desmond Tutu, Miriam Makeba and Chinua Achebe.

“I almost cried when I interviewed Achebe. I was overwhelmed and excited,” recalls Uduak. Locally, she has interviewed nearly all the top politicians in East Africa. The most annoying was with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.

“He was dismissive of the suffering he was causing to a lot of people. I was so  upset with him,” recalls Uduak.

She describes herself as a Pan Africanist and is deeply interested in matters Africa. And if she was to spend a day with a figure in history, she would settle for Queen Nzinga, queen in ancient Angola. From the Bible, she would love to spend a day with Nehemiah and Job.

“I like Job because of what he went through, and how he managed to remain steadfast in what he believed despite everybody around him telling him God had abandoned him. I would also like to meet  King David,” she says.

Stellar career

Uduak’s first job was an assistant producer with Reuters Television in Kenya.

In 2002, she joined the BBC London as a producer and presenter with the English-language BBC African News and current affairs programmes, Network Africa and Focus on Africa.

She was tasked with producing, editing  and presenting radio programmes for the African News and current affairs section of the BBC World Service before taking up the senior producer and presenter of the BBC African flagship programme, Focus on Africa. In 2006, she was appointed senior editorial adviser.

Last year, she left BBC and took up her current position at Royal Media Services to host Cheche.

Why she came back

She left her lucrative job in London and came back to Kenya in 2011 because she wanted to be with her family, which was going through some turmoil.

“My family needed me during that period. As a family, we have a cancer history. My grandmother had cancer in 2011, two of my cousins, whom I grew up with, died of cancer, a day after each other, and I sort of went crazy. I just wanted to get back home,” she says.

God in her

Ever since she came back to Kenya, Uduak says she rededicated her life to Christ and is also a mentor. She proudly reveals that three of her mentees graduated from high school last year.

In the course of her life, a few events have had profound impacts on her.

“Rwandan genocide changed the way I look at life. Dead bodies were being dumped in Lake Victoria and that was horrible. We had to stop eating fish for a while,” says Uduak forlornly.

Ardent reader

Uduak unwinds by reading and also loves dancing.

“I love African writers. I collect as much material as possible, so that in future,  my children can read the books and get exposed,” she says.

Whenever she goes out, friends take bets on how long it would take before she hits the dance floor. 

Parting shot to aspiring journalists?

“To be a better journalist, you have to read widely. Reading widens one’s mind and helps you think differently.  As a journalist, people will trust you to be their voice, open up to you, and that is why you must be informed. But to be realistic, journalism may or may not pay well and the hours are long,” she concludes.