In this harrowing account, Sudanese freelance journalist Fateh Al-Rahman Al-Hamdani recounts how he went undercover to document child abuse that was occurring in Islamic educational institutions, known as khalwas, in Sudan. He also writes about his personal experience as a teenager being abused by sheikhs, as well as the actions Sudan’s transitional government has taken since the publication of his investigation.
How They Did It
How They Did It: Tracking Down a Rwandan Genocide Suspect
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A French freelance journalist tracked down a man accused of being involved in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Here’s how French journalist Théo Englebert delved into the eight-month investigation, including his top tips for finding someone who wants to disappear.
Africa
Investigating the Police: Reporting Tips & Tools
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In this global GIJN webinar, “Investigating the Police: Reporting Tips and Tools,” co-organized with the African Investigative Journalism Conference, we bring together four experienced journalists: two from Africa and two from outside the continent, who have investigated law enforcement. They will share their experience and reporting techniques ranging from source development to forensic analysis.
Africa
GIJN Launches Francophone Africa Edition
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We’re delighted to announce that GIJN has launched a new initiative: GIJN Afrique. We’ll be sharing the best investigative tips and tools, groundbreaking stories, grants and fellowships, data sets and more, in French, with a focus on French-speaking countries across the African continent.
Member Profiles
Powering Up Geo-Journalism for Investigative Environmental Reporting
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The South African investigative site Oxpeckers uses a combination of data analysis, collaboration, and interactive data visualization tools to tell the most compelling stories about the land and those accused of damaging it. From mining to environmental crimes and wildlife trafficking, it has brought investigative techniques to beats like mining that were once the preserve of business reporters.
News & Analysis
Should Journalists Do Advocacy? Here’s a Unique Approach Out of South Africa
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An investigative outfit with an advocacy program may raise eyebrows. But in South Africa, amaBhungane has scored major wins for transparency and free speech.
COVID-19
Tips for Investigating COVID-19 in Africa
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Africa’s investigative journalists are playing a critical role in unpacking the continent’s expanding pandemic and have already snapped some governments out of their early complacency on COVID-19 preparedness. However, amid warnings about the potential impact of the virus on the continent’s 1.1 billion citizens, four leading African journalists shared strategies for coverage in this critical time in a webinar attended by reporters from 57 countries.
COVID-19
How Nigeria’s ICIR Pushes for Accountability in the COVID-19 Response
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An investigative journalism nonprofit based in Nigeria, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, has pushed the envelope with its approach to investigating the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Executive Director Dayo Aiyetan talks about how the unit has carried out its investigations in the midst of the lockdown and how reporters are holding the government to account over its response.
Africa
How an Innovative Health Website in South Africa Is Covering COVID-19
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Mia Malan is the founding editor-in-chief of the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, a pioneering, donor-funded media start-up in South Africa. In this interview Malan gives an overview of the work of her colleagues and gives some tips on how to cover the current crisis.
COVID-19
Reporting on COVID-19 in Africa: A Collaborative Story Idea List
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What is the best way into the COVID-19 story? Pick an angle. No matter what your beat is, the pandemic is seeping into almost every story. In response, the Kampala-based African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) created a running list of story ideas on COVID-19 which stretches across beats: from agriculture and food to the economy, education, religion, sports, and arts and entertainment.
How They Did It
Using a Mobile Phone Survey to Investigate South Sudan’s Conflict
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In South Sudan, conflict and government repression make it difficult to do on-the-ground reporting, so a team of journalists designed a mobile phone survey to gather data on forced displacement and destruction across the country. Carolyn Thompson explains why their award-winning investigation may offer lessons to others working in repressive environments or facing movement restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.