Cameroon: British High Commission supports a better press
The first prize was awarded to Snowsel Ano Ebie of the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) for his audio story on “Cameroonians Decry Excessive Government Spending on Vehicles.” Aminadeh Blaise Atabong of the Guardian Post won the second prize for his article titled “”Gendarmes Obstruct Justice on Fako Red Cross Agent”. Meanwhile, the third prize was shared between Eugene N. Nforngwa of the Standard Tribune online for his article on “The Broken Lives of Akwaya's Money Women” and Moki Edwin Kindzeka of the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) for his audio story “Cameroon Human Trafficking to the Middle East.”
The Investigative Journalism Award is a project by the British High Commission in Yaounde that aims to support freedom of expression and access to information to further strengthen democracy in Cameroon. Over the years, the High Commission has supported the media through specialised trainings locally and internationally, with academic scholarships, technical support, research, advocacy and lobbying for more effective operation of a free press. The intended impact of this project is to:
Help address human rights abuses in Cameroon due to shortcomings of the existing laws on media regulation.
Shed light on the need for an Access to Information Law that will permit citizens to obtain information acting as a powerful tool for tackling corruption that has stifled socio-economic and democratic progress in Cameroon.
Citizens and opinions formers who express themselves freely, without fear of arrest or persecution will contribute to better democracy in the country.
The first Investigative Journalism Award in 2013 was managed by the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) Cameroon under the leadership of Chief Nkemanyang Paul Foanyi; that year the project was co-funded by the U.S. Embassy in Yaounde. In 2014 the Civil Initiative for Development with Integrity (CIDI) led by Victor Epie Ngome implemented the award; In 2015 Chevening Fellow, George Ngwane's AFRICAPhonie was the implementer.