Kate Peyton
Encyclopedia
Katherine Mary Peyton was Senior Producer for the BBC
Johannesburg
Bureau 2002-05. She was killed in a shooting incident in Somalia whilst reporting on that country's nascent peace process.
She had gone to the Somali capital Mogadishu to report on the peace process and was standing outside a hotel popular with politicians and journalists when she was shot. It was later found by the United Nations
that her killing was likely organised by the Al-Qaeda
-affiliated military leader, Aden Hashi Farah
. Her brief in Somalia was to record the first signs of hope in that country's recent history. Kate Peyton was a journalist of wide experience, having worked in African and Middle Eastern conflict zones.
and read Civil Engineering at Manchester University. However, while at university she found herself increasingly drawn to books and journalism and resolved to make a career as a producer in broadcasting.
On leaving university she got her first job, at BBC Radio Suffolk
, and also worked at Radio Merseyside
and GMR
. Her long-term ambition as a young radio producer was eventually to work in South Africa, a country she had first visited with her family in 1979.
She finally moved to South Africa to work in the 1990s, firstly for the South African Broadcasting Corporation
and the BBC as a freelance producer. She was eventually appointed to the post of Africa Producer for the BBC early in the new millennium. She covered many major stories, including the emerging AIDS
crisis in South Africa
, the Mozambique
floods and the humanitarian emergency of Darfur
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
Bureau 2002-05. She was killed in a shooting incident in Somalia whilst reporting on that country's nascent peace process.
She had gone to the Somali capital Mogadishu to report on the peace process and was standing outside a hotel popular with politicians and journalists when she was shot. It was later found by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
that her killing was likely organised by the Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
-affiliated military leader, Aden Hashi Farah
Aden Hashi Farah
Aden Hashi Farah "Ayrow" was a leader of the Hizbul Shabaab, the armed wing of the Somali Islamic Courts Union . He was from the Ayr sub-clan, part of the Habar Gidir, which is a branch of the Hawiye clan. He was reportedly married to Halima Abdi Issa Yusuf. He was among several militants killed...
. Her brief in Somalia was to record the first signs of hope in that country's recent history. Kate Peyton was a journalist of wide experience, having worked in African and Middle Eastern conflict zones.
Background
Peyton was educated at Culford SchoolCulford School
Culford School is a coeducational HMC and IAPS public school for pupils age 3–18. Founded in 1881, it is situated in Culford, four miles north of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.-History:...
and read Civil Engineering at Manchester University. However, while at university she found herself increasingly drawn to books and journalism and resolved to make a career as a producer in broadcasting.
On leaving university she got her first job, at BBC Radio Suffolk
BBC Radio Suffolk
BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Suffolk, commencing broadcasts on 12 April 1990. Its studios are at Broadcasting House in St Matthews Street, Ipswich on 95.5 , 95.9 , 103.9 and 104.6 FM...
, and also worked at Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside
BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire. It was the third BBC local radio station to launch on 22 November 1967 initially serving the south west of historic Lancashire....
and GMR
BBC Radio Manchester
BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to Greater Manchester in North West England. It broadcasts 24 hours a day from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays via a transmitter at Holme Moss, with a small repeater at Saddleworth covering Tameside and Saddleworth...
. Her long-term ambition as a young radio producer was eventually to work in South Africa, a country she had first visited with her family in 1979.
She finally moved to South Africa to work in the 1990s, firstly for the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
and the BBC as a freelance producer. She was eventually appointed to the post of Africa Producer for the BBC early in the new millennium. She covered many major stories, including the emerging AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
crisis in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
floods and the humanitarian emergency of Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
.