CNN

David McKenzie

David McKenzie is a correspondent for CNN International based in Nairobi, Kenya.

McKenzie has won international awards for his coverage of the African experience and has reported from across the continent for all of CNN’s platforms.

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.

He was the first foreign reporter to gain access to Sudan’s controversial oil fields to report on alleged pollution, and has filmed numerous exclusives showing the untold stories of Africa.

Since joining CNN, McKenzie has interviewed many 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.

In 2011, McKenzie investigated the plight of the mentally ill in Kenya for CNN’s documentary series World’s Untold Stories. The programme’s broadcast resulted in domestic and international human rights groups calling for government intervention. The matter was brought to the attention of the Kenyan government, who have called for change; and the documentary, ‘Locked Up and Forgotten’, won the Amnesty International Media Awards in the "International Television and Radio" category.

McKenzie was also part of CNN’s award-winning coverage of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, where he uncovered the heartbreaking affect on Haiti’s Universities and the religious battle between Voodoists and Christians.

An avid sports fan, McKenzie was a crucial part of CNN’s World Cup 2010 coverage as he travelled thousands of miles across South Africa in a Winnebago to take the pulse of the country. From the southernmost football pitch in Africa, to elephants playing soccer, McKenzie told the story of the World Cup from a unique vantage point.

A regular face on CNN’s flagship Africa programme ‘Inside Africa’, McKenzie has reported stories from across the continent for the show and has hosted ‘Inside Africa’ from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. He has also guest-hosted CNN’s film programme ‘The Screening Room’.

McKenzie frequently contributes to CNN’s ‘African Voices’ and ‘CNN Marketplace Africa’, where he has highlighted some of Africa’s most intriguing personalities and business leaders.

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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@McKenzieCNN.