Hivisasa Africa caught up with Janet Mbugua at Johnnie Walker’s What Women Want Summit 2025. The media personality is currently co-hosting NTV’s morning show ‘Fixing The Nation’ alongside Eric Latiff and Mariam Bishar. She has made a choice to drive impact in society by using her image and extensive media expertise to reach the underserved and vulnerable in society. Beyond her prominence across social media platforms, Janet is also an actor. She has had leading acting roles across various popular films in the industry including ‘Cash Money’ which is available on Netflix. She is also the founder of Inua Dada Foundation – a charity aimed at advocating for the rights of young women and empowering girls in society.
Janet says joining Citizen TV in 2011 was a pivotal moment in her journey as a communicator. She says the media house offered her a bigger platform than she had anticipated and also got to be exposed to many other opportunities beyond what she considered to be within the realm of possibility.
Through her work at the media house, she started emceeing and moderating key forums in the country and across the region. She says moderating the ICPD 25 conference in Nairobi in 2019 was one of the most memorable moments of her career. The conference opened her pathway to becoming a recognized MC and she followed it up by moderating a number of global events. She was also the first ever Kenyan to host the Goalkeepers 2024.
On impacting women through what she does and through her work as a social justice advocate, Janet says she is primarily driven by her passion to impact society in a positive way. She says there is a unique way through which is able to connect to young women in society, understand their needs and work closely with them to create positives. She encourages women to stand up and be counted within their societal spaces. She notes that some sections of society are wired to doubt initiatives started by women but it is through boldness and dedication that results can be realized.
She says there is a lot of potential for women-owned businesses and companies to thrive as long as one identifies their niche and works to fill it. From selling flowers or candles to travelling around the world for business, Janet says there are multiple opportunities to positively impact society and the communities around you. She says that even when she has had to go through difficult moments there has been people who have stayed at her side and encouraged her to keep going – this, she says, is a blueprint of sustainable societies and communities that should be replicated across the board.
On using her influence and attaching it to social advocacy for change, Janet says she is trying to give herself permission to not always have the answers. She says advocacy is part of her and who she has been over the years. She says speaking out is part of the approach to keep out the pressure and remain on course in the face of adversity. She says this dedication and commitment flows through her family as well – from her mom to her youngest daughter.
Janet remembers an incident of her mother urging her to look beyond the labels allotted to her and take part in making society a better place as an active citizen. She says part of the advocacy she is currently involved in includes speaking out about menstrual equality. She says adding her voice to this adds an air of collective responsibility in solving societal issues.
Besides that, Janet Mbugua says her focus is to put some distance between her and government officials. She says she has been in rooms where things were being discussed but not everyone is on the table. She says if there aren’t more people at the table, then she would rather excuse herself at whatever cost.
She says doing this might not be easy due to her current responsibilities and commitments including raising her young family. She says having a larger number of active citizens will be key in being a big part of the decision-making process and the ‘burden’ is equally spread across the board.
Janet Mbugua says having answers and lacking them is seasonal. She says she has been able to gather a lot over the years and will never hesitate to share some of that with people around her and those who need her. She says there are a lot of people who bet on people like her to use their voices; she says this is fair as she plans to use her voice for the rest of her life. She says impact advocacy is part of her.
She also says that self-preservation is important in advocacy. While she plans to advocate for the rights of the underserved for as long as possible, she says pausing and having deep reflection is also important.
Janet Mbugua also wonders whether what she is currently doing could evolve into something else in the future. She says she has realized that for the foreseeable future, she wants to play a key role in shifting how things are done in Kenya, in the world, in women’s health, and on matters of equality – this is what she wants to do.
Moreover, Janet Mbugua says having meaningful collaborations, conversations and convening gives one the ability to see things in a different light. She says coming together makes it possible to develop impactful solutions to today’s problems. She says compromises are important because ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches don’t always work.
Janet Mbugua says her approach is to ensure she always lives life with a refined purpose. She says this is crucial in her advocacy work.
Janet Mbugua On Equality And Women’s New Role In Society
On women playing a crucial role in mentoring fellow women, Janet says she is proud to see women take up important spaces within society and drive impact. She says she is expecting more of the same in the near future. She expects to see more activists coming up to take up what has already been started. Janet sees a lot of potential in young people becoming the leaders of tomorrow and taking this country to where it needs to be. She says the main role of the older generation, therefore, is to guide, convene, collaborate and speak on behalf of the upcoming generation.
On the many issues affecting young Kenyans today, Janet says she has an important role to speak on their behalf. She says her focus is to do it as naturally as possible and use her experience to drive impact in society.
Janet Mbugua is cognizant of the fact that real change might not come overnight. She says it is all about figuring out what the best time to take the lead is; and this involves a lot of patience and learning from the environment. She notes that across the course of her career from when she was a young lady at 19, she has had to continuously re-invent while leveraging opportunities to give a voice to the voiceless. Janet’s aim is to keep going. She says she does not have to be who she was ten years ago.
On using her Fixing the Nation platform to give advice and point out what is wrong with the country’s leadership and political class, Janet Mbugua says having that microphone and speaking her mind is one of the most underrated privileges. She says she will continue doing her work and ensuring it counts for something at the end of the day.
ALSO READ: Maseno Girl Child Empowerment Founder Perpetua Pollette On Women’s Rights And Challenges
