Peter Wakaba is a business journalist working with the Standard Group. He is currently the Deputy Business Editor at the Kenya Television Network, having joined the station in 2007 after a short stint at the Kenya Times as a general news writer. He is an alumnus of the University of Nairobi School of Journalism.
Wakaba’s passion for business journalist is inspired by the belief that he can make a difference in the financial status of the people who are in some way informed or educated by the stories that he covers. “Often a lot of things happen regarding the financial wellbeing of people, and they either do not understand or have no one to turn to for explanation,” he says. “I feel that in one way or another, in my own little way, I may have been able to bridge this gap by consulting experts, talking to sources, investigating events and interrogating the things that other people consider difficult or over their heads”.
His job has enabled him travel to places like Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Sudan, South Africa, Rwanda and Germany, and he is hoping to cover more countries and continents in the future.
Peter’s greatest source of inspiration is the career and demeanour of Ali Velshi, CNN Chief Business Correspondent and Daytime Television anchor. “I consistently hold the belief that the key to being a performer is to enjoy your job: rest assured, it’s not as easy as it may look,” he says.
According to Wakaba, business journalism in Kenya has a long way to go and is only now beginning to show signs of growth and realisation of focus. He says the profession is lagging behind due to a lack of technical knowledge. “If there was anything that I could do to change the field of business reporting in Kenya, it would be to arm every reporter with proper training and education, and a drive and motivation to read and do thorough research,” he says.
“I aim to improve my ability to perform in this field by achieving as much training and experience as possible, so that I may be able to one day nurture a new crop of world beating Kenyan journalists who will shine on the world stage”.
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