Investigating Kenya: John-Allan Namu and Africa's next generation of journalists

"I want to work on becoming a better storyteller. I think at the bottom of every journalist's pursuit are those words: tell me a story. If you're a good storyteller then no matter what platform you're reporting on you will succeed," award-winning Kenyan journalist John-Allan Namu says.

Speaking to Journalism.co.uk during a brief visit to the UK, the broadcast journalist and investigative reporter has not let winning CNN's 2009 MultiChoice African Journalist award go to his head.

The 26-year-old, who graduated four years ago from his journalism course at Nairobi's United States International University, thanks his current employer Kenyan Television Network (KTN), who took him on as an intern, for 'training me and generally moulding me into the journalist I am today'.

"It's far from the finished product, but well on its way," he adds.

"Journalism is sometimes a very thankless job and you really don't get to see the people who appreciate your work in person. To be awarded this very prestigious award by CNN is in itself a huge reward. CNN is recognised globally and very strongly back home. Kenyans follow CNN as a brand and as a media house."

His award-winning films 'In the Shadow of the Mungiki' and 'Inside Story: Scars and Sufurias' were the result of a four-person production team, intensive research and an investigative mind.

"I'd been following the criminal gang [the Mungiki] for about a year and a half so I had that sort of institutional memory, as well as having read about and having experienced some of the effects of living with a criminal gang like that," he explains.

"The problems of being internally displaced [for Inside Story] was something that Kenyans had not experienced on that scale. It was a very new phenomenon having refugees from your own country and it had been in the news focus for quite some time, but because these things keep on popping up in the media people tend to get tired of the same old stories - the images of camps, the stories of despair told in a very general fashion.

"I tried to do things a little differently and get right inside the camps and expose what was going on."

News fatigue is causing a shift in demand for stories amongst Kenyans on a wider scale, adds Namu. Political changes in the country, 'like a soap opera', still have their place in the news agenda, but Kenyans would rather hear about solutions to their problems.

"Much like many other countries in Africa we're very politically driven. But there's a big shift towards issue-driven stories," he says.

"The main change that I'd want to see - that is happening right now - is a more deliberate focus on issue-based stories. Kenyans are now a far more discerning audience than they were a couple of years back and we need to feed that beast in that sort of way.

"At the end of the day you live and die by the stories you create and they way they resonate with the public. Media, especially in a country like Kenya and at a time like this, has a very important role in representing what the public is."

Post-election violence and Kenya's media
The media landscape in Kenya has shifted significantly since both the political regime change in 2003 and following the disputed election results in late 2007 and the beginning of 2008, when Namu was working for KTN.

After becoming freer to report following the inauguration of new President Mwai Kibaki, the government's month-long ban on live news broadcasts, as a result of the challenged elections in 2007, showed 'how prickly the state can be'.

"You always felt there was this shadow of government looking over you and watching what you do, but that really didn't influence what I reported or what lots of journalists back home said. It was a very brave, very new period for lots of journalists in Kenya. They proved their mettle. There were really impressive reports coming out of Kenya at that time from the journalists.

"It was very big of the state at that time not to completely clampdown on the media, especially because of the negative press that was coming it's way. But to cancel live coverage (…) live coverage was part of the reason Kenyans were so deeply involved and informed about the events going on during the electoral period.

"The state blamed live coverage for the sort of eruptions of violence which Kenyans saw (...) But on the whole showing people the real picture of what's going on really can't be the cause, at least not in my mind."

Lessons have been learned by both the state and media houses, who were largely cleared by an independent report into the post-election violence and the media's role in it.

"I think the first thing Kenyan media learned was the impact that certain images can have on a conflict. Whereas you don't want to censor yourself, you have to be extremely alive and aware of what’s going on on the ground and what the impact of your reporting can be," says Namu.

"2008 was a very new sort of age in journalism, because this was the first time Kenyan journalists were covering a very widespread conflict on their own soil and that brings with it's own challenges and conflicts."

Digital changes
The next big change for the country's news organisations will come with the spread of broadband technologies and cable in the country.

A year ago the idea of an 'all-platform' journalist would not have been discussed in Kenyan media circles, says Namu: "But it's no longer premature, the time is now, and people are looking in that direction.

"The next batch of graduates will definitely be more prepared, but journalists right now are open to the sort of changes that are happening on our continent, in our country, in terms of the internet and broadband technology. They're pretty adaptable to that kind of technology."

For news consumers in the country, the spread of broadband will further break down barriers to internet access, driving down the cost of online technologies and providing new audiences for media houses online.

While a new opportunity for journalism, Namu wants to improve his craft regardless of the platform. He's busy brushing up on behind-the-camera skills to improve his on-screen work, while working on several investigative reports.

"I want to be ready to report on not just Kenya, but about the world in general as it becomes much smaller," he explains.

"I want to be part of the generation that heralds a new age of journalism on the African continent."

Related reading on Journalism.co.uk: Journalism in Africa - Dennis Itumbi's reports on Kenyan journalism

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