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Hussein Mohamed: Why I joined William Ruto’s polls team

In 2009, broadcast journalist Hussein Mohamed was sent to interview William Ruto, then the minister for Agriculture.

The two struck a rapport instantly and from then on a strong bond started that gave the journalist accesses, mainly through prime-time television interviews, to the politician who would later rise to be Deputy President.

In this wide-ranging interview, Mr Mohamed, who was this week appointed Head of Communications at the William Ruto Campaign Secretariat, talks about life after the false glamour of television, what fame has taught him, his behind-the-scenes relationship with the Deputy President, the thin line between objectivity and bias in journalism, and how the allure of political messaging attracted him.

Kenyans know you as Hussein Mohamed from Citizen TV but there must be a Hussein Mohamed without the job as an extension of your identity. Who is that person?

Hussein Mohamed is just a simple guy who is in the communication field and a journalist who has tried to make a living for himself under difficult circumstances.

What you see is what you get and I can only thank God because it is His doing, not mine. I know that all these are opportunities that many don’t get.

I love the simple things in life and privacy regardless of being in the public domain. That’s me. That is who Hussein Mohamed is.