Larry Madowo finally quits Nation Media

NTV news anchor and host Larry Madowo has formally left Nation Media Group (NMG) ending weeks of speculation that he was headed for the exit door. In a post on his Twitter account, Madowo announced he was quitting the Nation Media Group (NMG)-owned station though he did not mention where he was moving to.

“I leave @ntvkenya as I came: humbled & grateful. The job was one of the great honours of my life. Thanks to everyone who watched, and to Nation for the privilege of the opportunity. I’m proud of my amazing colleagues & everything we accomplished. Farewell, my friends. Stay woke,” he said.

Signs that Madowo was serving notice at NMG emerged about one month ago when he edited his Twitter account to delete his job description. He was also the technology editor at NTV. The outspoken journalist had indicated signs of frustration over lack of editorial independence at the twin towers and took on former CEO Joe Muganda at a staff meeting called to announce plans for a second restructuring programme.

He questioned why the management had not defended reporter Justus Wanga after he was threatened by an aide to Deputy President William Ruto over a story he had written.

Madowo, then NTV Manager Linus Kaikai and anchor Ken Mijungu also defied an edict by Editor-in-Chief Tom Mshindi not to stream live events around the mock swearing in of NASA leader Raila Odinga as the People’s President on January 30 leaving to the station being shutdown alongside three others in a government clampdown.

I leave @ntvkenya as I came: humbled & grateful.
The job was one of the great honours of my life. Thanks to everyone who watched, and to Nation for the privilege of the opportunity. I’m proud of my amazing colleagues & everything we accomplished. Farewell, my friends.
Stay woke pic.twitter.com/MU2qyWmdek

— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) March 29, 2018

Kaikai has since been sacked and is now a consultant at Royal Media Services after a plan to appoint him Chief Operating Officer was torpedoed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

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It is not clear whether Madowo is also headed to Citizen TV but he could also join an international station. In recent days, he has been featuring on BBC, Channel4 News, CNN and Al Jazeera as well as the Washington Post where he has been tackling key issues in the country.

A blog site had two days ago reported that he had resigned but later pulled down the story. NMG has been on the spotlight in recent days after eight independent columnists resigned, saying they cannot be silenced.