Nigeria has a stubborn legacy of corruption that dates back decades. The MacArthur Foundation is investing some $67 million in investigative journalism, transparency, and good governance in the country — an ambitious experiment that could serve as a model for other states plagued by corruption.
Our curation of the most prominent data centers in Africa.
In Kenya, the NGOs Transparency International and Fojo Media Institute have paired up to train budding investigative journalists and offer them reporting grants. GIJN’s Rowan Philp reports.
Initially founded by the UN, The New Humanitarian became independent five years ago and is stepping up its investigative work into the multi-billion dollar aid industry. Rowan Philp profiles the organization working to hold the humanitarian sector to account.
Investigative journalist Ignace Sossou was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $338 for “harassment ” by a court in Benin. His crime? Sossou posted three tweets quoting the country’s public prosecutor, who had been speaking candidly about digital regulations.
Journalists for the Daily Trust in Nigeria told the Committee to Protect Journalists that the military conducted forensic searches on their computers and mobile phones following the publication of a story about a military operation. CPJ’s Jonathan Rozen writes that these raids are emblematic of a global trend of law enforcement seizing journalists’ phones and computers — some of their most important tools.
Government bodies often have mechanisms that allow journalists and members of the public to request data and documents. Below are some resources to help you understand the public records laws where you live and draft successful records requests. The National Freedom of Information Coalition is a US nonprofit organization that has a guide to international […]
Two investigative editors took huge pay cuts to launch Botswana’s first nonprofit newsroom. A year later, they took another, temporary cut just to pay for a single satellite image that proved that the country’s president had abused state funds to build a private lodge. Here’s Rowan Philp on the INK Centre for Investigative Journalism for GIJN’s member series.
The African Investigative Publishing Collective recently conducted a multi-part investigation into the associates that handle business for African kleptocrats. Evelyn Groenink shares how the story took form and the massive challenges faced by reporters spread across multiple countries.
A small nonprofit investigative newsroom played an outsized role in the removal of South Africa’s president and his corrupt inner circle last year. Now, amaBhungane is building a separate hub to help new investigative start-ups throughout southern Africa. Rowan Philp writes about the newsroom and its latest initiative for GIJN’s new series about its members.
