Mwingi Times journalist named among top influencers

 A leading Mwingi Times news reporter is one of the online content creators named for his incisive and no-holds-barred engagements he makes virtually.

Mr Boniface Mwaniki uses various approaches in arguments to drive his point home.

Speaking to MT, Mwaniki received the news with open arms but urged the ranking officials to have a more scientific approach in how they arrived at the report. “The listing seems good although the ranking needs some scientific approach”, he says.

While congratulating Mr Baraka Muli, a Kitui County Government PR official, Mwaniki says that Muli is usually an active official online and “never goes petty”.

A journalist who spoke exclusively to our reporter, while appearing to downplay the silence that greets journalists who engage government officials for comment on key county matters touching on ordinary wananchi said that the silence is largely due to the worry they have about keeping their jobs which they would rather keep than seeming vocal. This, he said, may upset the juniors’ bosses, a scenario they are not keen to experience.

Mr Mwaniki avers that he cannot sit and do nothing as evil is perpetrated by key actors in the county. “I do not know how to sit and watch over evil without saying anything”, says the young reporter who also covers stories for major Nairobi-based mainstream media channels.

Online discussions usually get interactive when trending topics are tabled and various users share their views. The topics include those touching on environmental matters, politics and social ills like corruption.

On December 29, The County Diary released names of top 23 big influencers in Kitui. Some of the notable names were Aggry Nzomo (#3), Baraka Muli (#4) and of course Boniface Mwaniki (#10).

Even The County Diary was number 23 while Kitui Online followed it closely at the next slot.

Many veteran reporters were missing from the ranking despite engineering incisive debates online and in various physical forums.

In his Facebook wall, Mwaniki says he is a Stringer at Nation amd a VJ at Zoomin.TV. He is also a reporter with KBC.

Story by MUSYOKA NGUI