[1] He left school at 13 years old after the headmaster falsely accused him of stealing altar wine, but continued to read widely.
[2] He moved on from reporting sports to general news – court, local government, local and national politics, parliamentary reporting, and other affairs in and affecting East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania) – "before spending considerable time investigating various aspects of life wherever the story was to be found".
[3] As a journalist at the Nation, Fernandes lived through the Mau Mau rebellion – people fighting for the return of their lands – and then lead-up to Kenyan independence in 1963, and after this, violent times which included one tribe's dominance over the country and, after discriminatory laws were passed, the departure of many Asians from Kenya.
Fernandes obtained one of the earliest interviews with Idi Amin, who was responsible for the expulsion of Asians from Uganda,[2] travelled with President Jomo Kenyatta and his ministers, including vice president Joseph Murumbi Zurate (who was half-Goan), and Munich Games massacre in 1972.
[4] However, Fernandez had to abandon his career in journalism in Kenya after receiving threats to his family,[2] after he had questioned various land ownership deals involving President Jomo Kenyatta and his wife Mama Ngina.
After leaving the paper, he took up a job in communications role with Caltex oil refinery in Kurnell, and during this time also edited the newspaper The Indian Down Under for 10 years.