Uganda’s Blanshe Musinguzi Wins African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award

Ugandan journalist Blanshe Musinguzi is this year’s African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award winner.

Musinguzi’s story titled ‘How Congo Trees are smuggled through East Africa,’ emerged atop all entries for the second edition of the African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award. He was announced winner at the gala awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa on October 31, 2024.

Published by The Africa Report, the winning story was worked on with support from the Pulitzer Centre and the Rainforest Investigations Network (RIN).

“It’s a story featuring great investigative research on the ground, persistence and courage in a dangerous part of our continent, as well as profound reporting,” Gwen Lister, the convener of the judging panel, said of the story.

“It is also an accessible and well written report, an often-overlooked component of journalism. “It’s also a story with great environmental impact, uncovering the people and companies behind widespread criminal activity with negative repercussions in many regions across Africa.”

In second place was the Ghanaian journalism trio of Manasseh Azure Awuni, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu and Evans Aziamor-Mensah for The GH₵ 3 Billion Lie series exposing ‘parasitic’ oil sector companies.

In third place was the Russian Doll series by Hennie van Vuuren, produced for Open Secrets and published in the Daily Maverick on the assassination of South African Colonel Frans Mathipa and arrival of Russian vessel Lady R.

An alumnus of Columbia University and Makerere University, he previously worked for Uganda Radio Network.

Blanshe Musinguzi praised his mother for taking him to school, and for teaching him “to take things seriously.”

“She was able to provide me with my fees and send me to school, but she could not read my report cards. When I went to secondary school, my classmates’ parents were teachers and doctors and so on, and they would come to visit their children, but no one could come to visit me – they couldn’t,” Musinguzi said.

“So from a very young age, I learnt to take things seriously. This award goes to all of us, and it’s an encouragement that we continue to do good work.”

Additional reporting: Stuart Dickinson/AIJC