Interview with Haru Mutasa

Haru Mutasa graduated with a BJourn in 2005 and shortly afterwards was hired by Al Jazeera, at a time when the news network was still gearing up for the launch of its English-language channel. When it did launch, in November 2016, Haru was one of the main on-air Africa correspondents, reporting from Darfur, Sudan. Over the course of her career Haru has covered many key events in Africa, including the Islamist invasion of Somalia, an attempted coup in Chad, Niger Delta militants, post-election violence in Kenya and Zimbabwe, the FIFA World Cup in SA, Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial, Nelson Mandela’s death, unrest in the DRC and Burundi, and civil wars in Ivory Coast and South Sudan. She has also interviewed many presidents and opposition leaders. Haru says her extensive work in Africa has given her a unique outlook on reporting the continent, and she has had to “learn how to negotiate with rebels, soldiers, child soldiers and key officials in governments”.