Sophie Ikenye

Last updated

Sophie Ikenye
Born
NationalityKenyan
OccupationPresenter / Reporter at BBC
Employer BBC
Organization BBC
Notable work Focus on Africa (TV programme)
Awards
  • 2017 - 100 Most Influential Young Africans
  • 2017 - 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans

Sophie Ikenye is a BBC news presenter from Kenya. [1] She is a main presenter for Focus on Africa (TV programme) on BBC World News. She worked in the broadcasting industry in Kenya for 12 years before joining the BBC. [2]

Contents

Career

Ikenye studied mass communication in Kenya and got an internship at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). She worked at KBC, Citizen TV, NTV Kenya [3]

She applied for a position at the BBC World Service in London which was looking for three presenters from East, West and South Africa, and got the job. In 2009 she started presenting Focus on Africa (Radio Version) which she did for three years [4] before the program went onscreen in 2012 where she still followed it and remains one of the main presenters of the show. [5] [6]

In her media and journalism career, Ikenye has covered key events in Africa, including the 2011 Nigerian presidential elections, the Libya crisis and led the coverage of the 2013 Kenyan elections. She has interviewed more than 10 African presidents and other prominent personalities. [7] [8]

In 2017, Sophie Ikenye alongside Peter Okwoche, Paul Bakibinga, Salim Kikeke and Dayo Yusufu visited Uganda where they broadcast Focus on Africa for a week. [9] She also guest celebrity anchored the PM Live news on Urban TV. [10]

Awards

In 2016, Sophie Ikenye was listed on the 100 Most Influential Young Africans by Africa Youth Awards. [11] She was at the same time listed on the 100 Most Influential Young Kenyans. [12]

See also

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References

  1. "Meet the team behind BBC Africa". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  2. "Sophie Ikenye Biography, Career and Awards". Soft Kenya. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. "Kenyan BBC anchor Sophie Ikenye bereaved". Nairobi News Nation. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  4. "Catching up with Sophie Ikenye, host of BBC's Focus on Africa". Standard Media. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  5. "Sophie Ikenye, debunking myths about Africa". Destiny Connect. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  6. "Q & A with BBC presenter Sophie Ikenye". The Citizen. 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  7. "Never lose your feminine instinct: Sophie Ikenye". Daily Monitor. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  8. "Exclusive: BBC's Sophie Ikenye Talks To Chano8 About Life And Career". Chano8. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  9. "UrbanToday: Ronald Kato Interviews BBC's Sophie Ikenye". Urban TV. 15 February 2017. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. "BBC presenters to begin delivering Urban TV shows tomorrow". New Vision. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. "TV presenter Sophie Ikenye named in 100 Most Influential Young Africans list". SDE Kenya. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. "Sophie Ikenye". Africa Youth Awards. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.