Maureen Nkandu

Maureen Nkandu is an Zambian international journalist and communications expert. She began her career at the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) aged 18. She is daughter of veteran journalist and lecturer, Faxon Nkandu, a former News Editor of the Times of Zambia.

Early life

She was influenced by her father Faxon Nkandu, former News Editor of the Times of Zambia, and one of very few African journalists to cover the Vietnam War. Out of all of his children, she was the one who showed the most interest in his work. She was nicknamed a reporter both at home and at school because she frequently told on her peers and siblings whenever they did something wrong. At age 11, Maureen read a speech on behalf of all Commonwealth children to the Queen of England and other British and Zambian government leaders at the Commonwealth summit Lusaka.

At age 17, after completing high school, she walked into the then Zambia Broadcasting Service (now ZNBC) to plead for a job but they could not hire her because of her age and inexperience. Because she was persistent, she was put in a pool of about ten candidates. All the others at the interview were journalism college graduates who laughed off her chances. Little did they know that she had been practicing for the job in front of the mirror for five years and they were all stunned when she got the job.

Professional career

Maureen began as a continuity presenter at ZNBC all the while begging her bosses to let her do the news which was the preserve of 'the veterans' at the station. Then one day the news presenter did not show up on time and she asked them to let her read the news which they reluctantly allowed her to. The news was watched by virtually everyone in the country including President Kenneth Kaunda. When she concluded the take, her director was ecstatic with her performance. Having noticed her evident talent, the station invested in Maureen by sending her for formal training.

Capture in Congo DR

t's 1998 in the outskirts of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The commandant, who is now heavily intoxicated with drugs and cheap liquor, grabs Maureen Nkandu by the arm and tells her that he is ready to have a 'good time' with her. Victor, the cameraman, is in tears. He pleads with their aggressor to let her go claiming that Maureen has a terrible disease that makes her shake and sweat all the time. Miraculously, he backs down but minutes later they are locked up in a damp dark cell littered with human faeces.

"I was working for the SABC and had gone to interview Laurent Kabila at the height of the civil war following a rebellion in the east," Maureen recalls as we sit poolside at her Sunninghill residence. "We happened to catch on camera some of his security forces beating up innocent people which is what landed us in trouble."

That evening, the SABC reported on the evening news that its crew was missing in Kinshasa. Shortly after, the BBC picked up the story and before long, it became international news which led to their eventual release and repatriation.

External links

• Zambia Daily Mail
• The African Professional