David McKenzie is a correspondent for CNN International based in Nairobi, Kenya.
McKenzie was one of the first foreign correspondents to uncover the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Together with the Nairobi team, he has patrolled the waters of Somalia with the US Navy, interviewed Somali pirates and sourced exclusive material from the country itself. McKenzie was there to report on the dramatic rescue of Captain Richard Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama that captivated the world.
During the US elections, McKenzie reported extensively on the rising tide of ‘Obama-Mania’ that swept the country in support of now President Obama. He interviewed family members of the U.S. President and conducted the first television interview with Barack Obama’s half brother in Nairobi.
A regular face on CNN’s flagship Africa programme ‘Inside Africa’, McKenzie has reported numerous stories from across the continent for the show and has hosted ‘Inside Africa’ from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. He has also guest-hosted CNN’s monthly film programme ‘The Screening Room’.
Since joining CNN, McKenzie has interviewed numerous high-profile personalities and leaders including Nobel Prize winners Wangari Maathai and Desmond Tutu, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
An avid sports fan, McKenzie has played a key part in CNN’s coverage of the build-up to Africa’s first World Cup in 2010.
Prior to moving into field work, he was based in New York as a freelance producer and writer for various international broadcasters and newsgathering organisations including ABC News, BBC and Reuters. He made his debut on air with reports for CNN International during the 2007 elections in Kenya and the early days of the subsequent unrest. Earlier in 2007, he also worked as a freelance producer for CNN Worldwide initiative CNN Heroes.
McKenzie joined CNN from UNICEF, where he served as a correspondent and producer with their Africa Services Unit. In that role, he reported from more than 30 countries in Africa, covering stories on the instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
McKenzie graduated from Duke University with degrees in Public Policy and Psychology and received a Masters in Journalism from New York University, where he was on a full scholarship (Broadcast and Knight Foundation Scholarship).
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