Haggai Matsiko leads a team of five The Independent writers shortlisted for the Uganda National Journalism Awards 2017.

The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) on Thursday announced a shortlist of 80 journalists whose 95 stories/entries have been evaluated for final accolades by a panel of 16 judges.

Investigative journalist Matsiko was nominated as a finalist for the Nile Breweries Award for Exceptional Journalism award and in three other categories. His The Independent colleagues Ronald Musoke  ( top last year),  Agnes Eriosi Nantaba, Ian Katusiime and Isaac Khisa are finalists in six categories.

The winner of the Exceptional Journalism award will be recognized as one who in the past year has exhibited extensive knowledge of his or her reporting beat, provides evidence of growth over the period of assessment, consistently produces quality work, and is highly regarded by others in the profession.

This year’s winners will be announced  April  12, 2017, at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala. Dr Louis Kasekende, the deputy governor of Bank of Uganda, will preside as chief guest. Cash prizes, a commemorative plaque and certificate will be given out.

Matsiko was nominated in three other categories for the following entries:

Energy, Oil and Gas mining – The Karuma, Isimba dams saga (click)

National News –  Inside the Shs1 trillion bailout (click)

Political reporting – Amama Mbabazi’s presidential petition (click)

According to a statement from ACME, the awards, organised with support from the Democratic Governance Facility and Hivos, celebrate and promote in-depth and enterprising journalism that informs public debate and holds the powerful to account. The awards are open to all journalists working for media outlets in Uganda or regional media houses with wide circulation and significant audience reach in the country.“While the awards serve to reward excellence, they are also a vital tool in informing us about the knowledge and skills gaps in Ugandan journalism,” said ACME Executive Director Peter G. Mwesige.

“The awards further provide us with a solid baseline on which to tailor our training programmes, small grants and mentoring efforts,” he said.

Record entry for awards

The ACME statement quoted Dr George Lugalambi, who has chaired the judging panel since the awards were first held in 2014, stating that the general standard of entries continued to improve year-on-year.

“More than ever, the shortlisted journalists produced stories that competed against some of the best in the industry and are truly deserving of a place on the final list,” Dr Lugalambi said.

According to ACME, 186 journalists from media outlets across Uganda participated in the 2017 competition, a 25 per cent increase over the previous year. There was also a marked increase in the number of stories entered.

The overall number of entries from print, broadcast and online platforms was 307, up from 237 in the 2016 edition.”

There were 20 categories with health, features, education and local reporting attracting the highest number of entries. Competition was greatest in the explanatory and education reporting categories.

The statement noted that during the judges’ final conference held on March 17, 2017, it was observed that while the quality of stories had improved, there were significant knowledge gaps in specialised beats such as justice, agriculture, environment and health that led to inadequate reporting.

THE SHORTLIST

Nile Breweries Award for Exceptional Journalism

1. Benon Herbert Oluka – The Observer
2. Carol Natukunda – New Vision
3. Daniel Edyegu Enwaku – New Vision
4. Haggai Matsiko – The Independent
5. Solomon Serwanjja – NBS TV
6. Raymond Mujuni – NTV Uganda