It is a dream of an ambitious journalist to be recognized and awarded. I am humbled to be one of Uganda’s award-winning journalists. In 2007, I bagged my first award as the ‘Best Arts and Leisure Writer’ under the Golden Pen Journalism Awards.
In his citation, Mr. Onapito Ekomoloit, the Legal & Corporate Affairs Director at Nile Breweries Limited said I was being recognized for my consistency, good and depth of writing style and articulation of issues.
In 2011, I was awarded as ‘Best Entertainment Writer’ by Divas Awards which recognized artistic efforts and works of female singers. The particular award was in recognition for using my professional skills as a journalist and photographer to tell stories and coverage towards female artistes.
I am a two-time nominee in the Young Achievers Awards’ (YAA) for 2010 and 2011 respectively. I am 2017 Data Journalism category winner in the Uganda National Journalism Award (UNJA).
I was a runner-up in the ‘Features Journalism’ category in 2016 UNJA. In 2013, I emerged winner in the ‘Sports Journalism’ category for the same awards. In 2013, I was awarded as a runner-up for the ‘Health Journalism’, still under UNJA. The recognition was for a story I wrote capturing the challenging experiences of a mother of an autistic child.
Here is the link to the story… https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/HealthLiving/A-mother-s-lessons-from-raising-a-child-with-autism/689846-2112604-aw7xnmz/index.html
The story that won me the sports award was two brothers pursuing different sporting disciplines. Arthur Kyobe is a cricket player while Julius Lutwama is a basketball player.
Both are born of a sporting mother who was a netball player.
I dedicated time to follow and appreciate the efforts of both Arthur and Julius, more like a behind-the-scenes analysis. I pieced together a story that chronicles their typical days as well as motivations and career journeys, their achievements captured therein. Here is a link to the story… https://www.monitor.co.ug/Magazines/Score/Kyobe–Lutwama—Two-brothers-with-their-stars/689854-2056176-hhmecyz/index.html
The Data Journalism award was a reward for a story about illicit wildlife trade, detailing the figures and using them to tell the story. Many of the items bought from wildlife poachers end up in Asian markets.
Interestingly, eighty per cent of the Chinese buyers did not know that the ivory came from elephants that were killed in Africa. Here is a link to the story… https://www.monitor.co.ug/artsculture/Reviews/Illegal-wildlife-trade-a-thorn-in-tourism/691232-3230840-rsort5z/index.html
