Nine journalists honoured with African ZIMEO excellence in media awards

A total of nine journalists have been honoured with awards at the third edition of the African Media Initiative ZIMEO Excellence in Media in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The awards which recognize and celebrate outstanding work in journalism that focuses on development themes also saw 18 runners-up recognized.
The highest award – AMI Chair’s Award for Overall Excellence in Journalism – went to Jay Caboz of Forbes Magazine, South Africa, for his consistent exemplary journalism over the three years of the Zimeo programme.

The awards attracted hundreds of entries from across Africa in English, French, Portuguese and Swahili from print, radio, television and online media professionals. A jury of 15, stationed in different parts of the continent, picked the winners.

“The growing interest in these awards clearly points to the renewed importance that media in Africa accords to the issues that citizens are most concerned about,” said Eric Chinje, the Chief Executive Officer of AMI.
“We see an exceptional effort in the winning entries to drive the development agenda, because that’s essentially the objective of the Zimeo programme,” he added.

The awards were presented at a Gala Night, which capped the activities of a 2-day Africa Senior Media Dialogue jointly organized by AMI, the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, UNESCO, and the Federation of African Journalists. The awards were made possible through the generous support of Punch Newspapers of Nigeria, Al Jazeera, the African Wildlife Foundation and Ford Foundation’s Eastern Africa office.

Complete list of the winners:
AMI Chair’s Award for Overall Excellence in Journalism– Jay Caboz (Forbes Woman Magazine, SA)
The Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Award for Science and Technology – Ancillar Mangena (Forbes Woman Magazine, SA)
1st runner-up -- Waikwa Maina (Kenya)
2nd runner-up-- Patrick Egwu Ejike (Kenya)
African Wildlife Foundation Award for Conservation and Climate Change Reporting – Dorcas Wangira (KTN, Kenya)
1st runner-up -- Ndiol Seck - Senegal
2nd runner-up -- MacPherson Mukuka (Zambia)
Award for reporting on Urban Development – Kunle Falayi (Punch Newspapers, Nigeria)
1st runner-up -- Muritala Ayinla (Nigeria)
2d runner-up -- Toluwani Eniola (Nigeria)
Award for reporting on Agriculture and Food Security – Bakouan Ouaboue (Manivelle Radio, Burkina Faso)
1st runner-up -- Hanna Ojo (Nigeria)
2nd runner-up -- Renovat NDABASHINZE (Burundi)
Award for reporting on the Maritime Economy – Destiny Abanyem Onyemihia (Voice of Nigeria, Radio)
1st runner-up -- Joseph Burite (Uganda)
2nd runner-up -- Jay Caboz (South Africa)
Awarded for reporting on Energy and infrastructure – Nuzulack Dausen (The Citizen, Tanzania)
1st runner-up -- Femi Asu (Nigeria)
2nd runner-up -- Jeffrey Moyo (Zimbabwe)
Award for reporting on Peace and Security – Ridwan Karimi Dim-Osman (GHOneTv, Ghana)
1st runner-up -- Christian Locka (Cameroon)
2nd runner-up -- Suy Kahofi (Ivory Coast)
Award for reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- Taiwo Adebulu (The Cable online platform)
1st runner-up - Tunde Ajaja (Nigéria)
2nd runner-up - Adam Alqali (Nigéria)

About AMI
The African Media Initiative (AMI) is a pan-African organization that seeks to strengthen the continent’s private and independent media sector from an owner and operator perspective to promote democratic governance, social development and economic growth. It does so through a set of strategic activities aimed at transforming the media and communications landscape on the continent.
AMI’s overall goal is to promote the development of pluralistic media as a necessary and critical ingredient of democratic governance, as well as economic and human development in Africa.