Young journalist explains question that earned her recognition at Ruto's event

In early November when South African president Cyril Ramaphosa made a state visit to Kenya, young journalist Liz Jackson had no idea she would be one of the highlights of the visit.

During the press briefing by the two heads of state at State House Nairobi, Jackson who works with SPM Buzz caught the attention of not only the two presidents but also other government officials who were present.

Liz said she had little time to prepare for the press briefing but braved the presence of the two heads of state to ask a question that one of the members found funny making a satirical laugh.

“I asked a very easygoing question about art and entertainment and after that, I heard someone laughing and I wondered whether I had asked a stupid question but then the president chose to answer my question first and he called me by name which really surprised me,” Liz narrated in an interview with Nairobi News.

Later after the presser, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua had a chat with her and it was this moment that Liz would trend for a better part of that day.

In videos captured from the event, Liz was seen exchanging contacts with CS Mutua leaving netizens with conclusions that CS Mutua was hitting on the 23-year-old journalist.

Liz has however come out to clarify that the contents of their discussion were not around what a section of online users thought. She said that the point of getting the CS number was to organise an interview later.

“The moment I see the CS coming I was like, I must secure an interview, because that's what I think of first when I see someone I would want to interview,” Liz said.

Influencer Ajib Gathoni and journalist Liz Jackson at the Pulse Influencer Awards Influencer Ajib Gathoni and journalist Liz Jackson at the Pulse Influencer Awards Pulse Live Kenya

Liz said that the video later shared online was misinterpreted by many who assumed the CS was hitting on her.

She also noted that she gained more followers online after the viral video despite having been inactive for months on a platform such as Twitter.