Meet the team

Kim Chakanetsa is an award-winning journalist from Zimbabwe. She joined the BBC in 2013 after working for CNN International and Associated Press. For BBC World Service, she currently presents a weekly radio programme called The Conversation, which brings together women from different countries who have a shared profession, passion or experience. She has also worked on a number of documentaries for the World Service. When not in the studio, Kim likes attempting complex recipes.

Fred Martins is a self-taught visual artist and art director from Nigeria. He is also a medical doctor and trained at Crimea State Medical University and Lviv National Medical University. As an artist Fred Martins has created numerous posters on social issues which investigate the concerns of people, animals and the climate. He began his artistic career professionally in 2004 and has created several art series including ‘Orange, Black and Freedom’, ‘Global Warming’, and ‘Aba Women Riot’.

Eric Musyoka is a Kenyan music producer and sound engineer. After joining a rap group in high school, he started his musical career at Homeboyz Entertainment as their first producer and sound engineer. He went on to win the Kisima Producer of the Year award. His company Decimal Media has worked with Kenyan and international artists such as P-Unit, Just-A-band, Sauti Sol, Neyma, Diplo, Morgan Heritage and also for international brands such as Discovery Channel, Netflix, CNN, Universal Music and Coca Cola. Eric loves outdoor adventures and touring around Africa on his motorbike.

As well as editing The Comb, Pearse is the Editor of Focus on Africa Radio, the BBC’s leading news programme on African news and current affairs for the last 60 years. His career began as an intern with Capital FM in Kenya and since then he has reported for BBC World Service from Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Burundi. In the last two years he has worked on the BBC’s Komla Dumor award which sets out to find and develop the best journalistic talent across Africa.

Mary joined the BBC in 2015. Among the stories she has covered are Partition’s legacy in India, the death penalty in Malawi and the refugee crisis in Europe. Before joining the BBC, she worked as a researcher with a focus on international law and African affairs.