Top Story: City university students win trip to BBC London
Three Kenyan university students will be visiting BBC headquarters in London after winning a journalism competition.
Mount Kenya University (MKU) students won the popular Top Story challenge that was broadcast on Facebook Live on Sunday evening.
Multi Media University bagged second prize, followed by Kisii University and Maseno University respectively.
The three MKU students had braved weeks of various journalism challenges that were being judged by renowned Kenyan journalists like John Allan Namu, Janet Mbugua Ndichu and Joe Ageyo.
The winning students’ final story focused on the water cartels in Nairobi. They talked to vendors who admitted to paying off water officials to cut water supply so as to make a kill selling jerricans of water.
CHANGED PERSPECTIVE
One of the winners, Ken Njenga, narrated how the Top Story faculty led by the principal Joseph Warungu changed their perspective on journalism.
“I never knew that it was possible for a guy like me from the village without a parent to emerge top. We thank our lecturers, mentors and judges who believed in us,” he said.
Kenya Film and Classification Board Chairman Ezekiel Mutua said the reason why many corrupt individuals are still walking in the streets is because the country lacks journalists who can expose and push for arrests and convictions.
“I pray that all those who have gone through this programme will know that the fundamental duty of a journalist is to tell stories that are of public interest, not rumors and side shows,” he said.
Ghanian faceless investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas told the students to ensure their journalism puts the bad people in jail.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas. ?♀️ #TopStorySn2Finale #TopStoryFinale pic.twitter.com/DXmTVTvOjf
— Janet Mbugua Ndichu (@OfficialJMbugua) March 25, 2018
Here is the Top Story grand finale.