Kenyan-born White House Photographer Polly Irungu Announces Her Exit

A Kenyan-born photographer on January 20, shared an emotional message revealing that her time at the White House has come to an end.

Taking to her X account, Irungu disclosed that her White House role was coming to a close as Donald Trump prepares to take the reins of power in the US.

\”When I developed a love for visual storytelling and worked at McDonald\’s in school to save up for my first camera.I never thought my passion would take me to the White House. After nearly three years, today was my last day. Thank you, Mr President, Adam, and Lawrence.\”

Polly Irungu earned plaudits in 2022 after she beat the odds to land the first photo editor job at the White House, US.

She became the first person to hold the position in the office of the then Deputy President Kamala Harris.

In 2020, during the early stages of her photography career, the proactive Irungu launched Black, an online directory of around 100 Black female photographers, all sourced from a Twitter list. 

Her goal at the time was to create a one-stop shop for people to find and hire Black women for photography gigs.

The  photographer’s work has been recognised by numerous publications, including The New York Times and Reuters.