Investigative journalism distinguishes itself from regular journalism by its depth and subject matter, often involving crime, political corruption or corporate wrongdoing.
It can play an essential role in a country’s governance by keeping corporations and governments accountable.
In East Africa region, the political, social and economic environment presents specific challenges for investigative journalists including increased security measures, secrecy and militarization.
It is therefore not surprising that more than 40 journalists, editors and media representatives eagerly gathered in Kenya during September 2012 to discuss issues around ‘War on Terror in East Africa: security, elections and transparency.
The conference programme, which combined national case study presentations with technical skills training, was organized by the Forum for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR) with support from Open Society Institute East Africa (OSIEA), Kenya Media Programme (KMP), Tanzania Media Fund (TMF) and the Great Lakes Media Institute (GLMI, Rwanda & US)
As an association of African investigative journalists, FAIR’s mission is to improve investigative reporting and facilitate publication of social justice issues by media in Africa. This objective is supported by our partners in east Africa.
The Nairobi meeting follows regional investigative journalism conferences in Senegal and Zambia, which explored investigative methodologies and strengthened FAIR’s network of media professionals.
The keynote address by Charles Mwanguhya, Uganda Monitor and FAIR Board member, looked at ways of tracking money during election campaign financing and how to bring political actors into the spotlight using credible sources. Sample stories of in-depth election coverage by The Monitor were presented by Barbara Among, who encouraged colleagues in Kenya to investigate and probe their own leaders in the context of upcoming elections.
‘Not only government’s issue brown envelopes’
The response by participants was equally encouraging, and included feedback on cases of bribery and censorship which journalists in the region encountered. “How do we prevent suppression of the story?” asked one delegate. FAIR’s Kassim Mohamed advise fellow journalists to avoid bribery from all types of players when following a lead.
The complexities of both government and media censorship was highlight during a presentation titled ‘The whistle-blower in Tanzania’ by Richard Mgamba, Tanzania Guardian and Maxence Melo, developer of Jamii Forums, a home-grown social networking service. Noting that some cases of media ownership have led to censorship, Jamii Forums seeks to help journalists work under secure environments and to publish online.
However the risks of going beyond the surface included ‘death threats, terrorism charges and a clone website’, admitted Maxence Melo, who plans to expand coverage into the East Africa region next year.
‘DRC most under-reported story in 2012’
Sally Stapleton of the Great Lakes Media Institute (Rwanda and U.S.) led a discussion around ‘Warlords and looting: reporting conflict in the DRC/Kivu region’ and specifically role of Rwanda media in covering the strife inside refugee border camps. Participants concurred that DRC investigations cannot be conducted in traditional ways ,and that armed foces will not hesitate to shoot at the media.
Wanjohi Kabukuru, New African and GLMI Board member, encouraged journalists and media houses to lead the way on initiatives to publish inter-border complexities. “The DRC, which holds approximately 24 trillion US Dollars of natural mineral wealth , should not be ignored by the continent’s media, since many regional governments have a stake in how these resources are transported through neighbouring countries” concluded Mr Kabukuru.
Fred Mwasa cited examples of travel to DRC border regions, with the Rwanda News Agency, and the risks of being killed or being provided with wrong information. “This does not mean the story cannot be told”, said Mwasa, who advised his peers to collaborate with local journalists to get around the obstacles.
The afternoon session by Ron Nixon of the New York Times and founder of Ijima project provided insight on ‘how to follow government spending through public information’. There is data on African state spending freely available on the internet, such as US department databases, service contracts, legal documents and US aid agency websites.
Although termed ‘classified’ by some Ministries, data on government programmes can be obtained via the US Freedom of Information Act, for example.
The selection of websites and documents presented by Nixon was meant to enable investigative journalists to dig deeper using various tools and sources without getting into trouble. The discussion concluded that some data from the US is more useful to African journalists in order expose a global business of secret lobbying and foreign aid that does not help development. (For the case of Tanzania, download – EXHIBIT 1 and EXHIBIT 2)
The conference will end on Wednesday 19 September, and is expected to set the stage for new cross-border investigations, capacity building programmes and national stories during 2013.
Proud of you!!!