Press release
Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA)
April 22, 2014
Addis Ababa

EAJA Concludes Regional Investigative Journalism Workshop, Secures Ethiopia’s Support to Lobby AU on Safety and Security of Journalists

The Eastern Africa Journalists Association (EAJA) has successfully concluded its five day regional investigative journalism and corruption reporting training of trainers which ran from April 14-18, 2014.

The training workshop, which gathered 22 participants from Eastern Africa countries, was part of EAJA’s efforts aimed at building the capacity of media in Eastern Africa region by providing in-depth knowledge and skills on investigative journalism and corruption reporting in the region.

In his address to the participants at the closing session of the workshop, Ethiopia’s Minister for Communication and Government Affairs Mr. Redwan Hussein said his government recognized the importance of freedom of the press and freedom of expression as inalienable rights that must be protected and defended to the full extent of the law.

“Investigative journalism and reporting on corruption are issues of great concern and importance for all policymakers in Eastern Africa. The Government recognizes the vital role that the press and media practitioners play in the realization of democratic ideals, social justice and ultimately economic development.” said the Minister.

He reiterated his government’s commitment to assist EAJA in successfully discharging its responsibilities from its new secretariat in Addis Ababa, adding that the Ethiopian Government would take the lead to support the endorsement of the draft resolution on safety and security of African journalists at the African Union.

The opening ceremony on April 14, was chaired by Honorable Mpéré Diarra, former Vice President and member of the Arusha based African Union Advisory Board on Corruption, who urged journalists in Africa to exploit the international instruments such as United Nations Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, to expand their knowledge and understanding of international norms and standards in undertaking investigative journalism.

The opening session was also addressed by EAJA Secretary General , Alexandre Niyungeko, Antenneh Abraham Babanto, President of the Ethiopian National Journalists Union (ENJU) and First Vice Chair of EAJA who both urged journalists in the Eastern Africa region to utilize their investigative journalism skills to help reduce corruption and enhance transparency and accountability said when welcoming participants.

Gabriel Baglo, the Africa Director of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) who also addressed the opening session conveyed solidarity messages from the global body and from the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ).

The IFJ Africa director called on the African Union to adopt the Declaration on African Platform on Access to Information and the Resolution on the Safety of Journalists in Africa.

The training is part of the activities of a three year EAJA project supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) dedicated to promoting media freedom and ending impunity in Eastern Africa.

The workshop made a critical analysis of the corruption situation in Eastern Africa and the entire continent. As a follow up to this training, EAJA will develop a training manual on investigative journalism and corruption reporting.

In addition, EAJA will hold in-country training will be organized on investigating and reporting corruption in 11 countries in the region in a bid to improve investigative reporting which will benefit 25 journalists at each country level.
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