Former Citizen Radio Sports editor Mutota Mutwiri has joined CCTV Africa from Sportpesa two years after joining the betting company from Royal Media Services.
On Monday, the prolific sports writer and analyst took to social media to announce that his decision to join the Chinese broadcaster has been informed by the allure of resuscitating his journalism career after a stint in the corporate industry.
He is now a Line Producer, Sports at the Chinese broadcaster which has its Africa headquarters in Nairobi.
“They say once a news hound always a news hound. The allure of the newsroom proved too strong to resist,” Mutwiri posted on social media “After two wonderful years at Sportpesa, it is time to resume my news career journey at CGTN Africa (sic),”
{Read: Nation, struggling to fill newsroom talent gaps, loses more journalists}
Mutwiri was part of a group of journalists poached by Sportpesa in May 2017, as the company sought to strengthen its content team to match its massive growth and expansion strategy.
His decision to leave Sportpesa comes at a time when the betting giant is fighting the government’s move to suspend its operating licence, paybill number and short message codes over allegations of tax evasion.
{See also: Crackdown on betting firms to cost media 10% of advertising revenue}
Mutwiri is a winner of the Sports Journalist of the Year Award at the 2008 CNN Africa Journalist Awards.
He is an alumni of the University of Nairobi (UoN) Journalism School and holds a Diploma in Mass Communication from Kenya Institute of Media Communication (KIMC).