This archive report was first published on 24 June 2021.
Kimberley Leonard, a multilingual journalist with over 20 years of experience in the media industry, has been a familiar face on international news channels, including Sky News TV and Al Jazeera English.
However, her Kenyan roots were recently put to the test by netizens after she shared a photo of her mother's unique Kikuyu clock on Twitter.
On June 18th, Leonard posted a photo of the clock, which features Kikuyu words to make it simple for her mother to read the time.
Some local media outlets retweeted the photo, claiming that Leonard was born in Kenya, which sparked a heated debate on social media.
Leonard quickly clarified that she was not only born in Kenya but also proud to be a Kenyan, saying, “Guys – I’m not only Kenyan-BORN – I’m Kenyan….you can’t get rid of me like that! lol!”
Netizens were not convinced by her words alone and decided to put her language skills to the test.
One tweep, Sam Baja, posed a question to her: “If you’re truly a Kenyan lady, hebu tuma text ya kuomba fare.”
Leonard replied, “Si unipromote kidogo?” which left many convinced that she was indeed a Kenyan.
She further proved her Kenyan roots by producing her Kenyan national identity card and passport.
Leonard was born and bred in Kenya, growing up in Lang’ata, Nairobi, and her father was a pilot.
She is fluent in English, Kiswahili, and French and has worked as a news anchor for over two decades.
