Soyombo, editor of TheCable, short-listed for Free Press Awards in Netherlands

‘Fisayo Soyombo, editor of TheCable, has emerged one of six journalists from across the world short-listed for the 2016 Free Press Awards to be decided in The Hague, Netherlands, on November 2 — the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.

The recognition for Soyombo comes two weeks after he was named Journalist of the Year (Business and Economy Reporting) in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Awards, and three months after his short-listing for the 2016 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism.

Soyombo earned a spot among the three finalists in the Newcomer of the Year category of the Free Press Awards, for ‘Forgotten Soldiers’ — a five-part series exploring the agony of soldiers shattered by Boko Haram’s bullets and mines, and what their pains mean for their loved ones.

After the story was published, the Nigerian army had accused Soyombo, TheCable, as well as the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), which collaborated with TheCable on the project, of committing “subversion” — a treasonable offence punishable with death under military regimes.

The other finalists for the category are Tafadzwa Ufumeli from Zimbabwe and Mechman Huseynov from Albania.

In a statement released at the weekend, organisers of the awards said Ufumeli “publishes regularly in NewsDay, one of the most important newspapers in Zimbabwe, and works as a freelancer amongst others for a Turkish photo agency”.

They also said Huseynov, “with his articles, blogs and videos, Huseynov tries to bring attention to the social and political problems in Azerbaijan”.

“The Newcomer of the Year in Journalism recognises talented new journalists who have put in a strong performance when it comes to reporting the news,” the statement added.

“The nominees… show extraordinary dedication to journalism as a means to hold those in power accountable and to serve as a watchdog in the public interest. They manage to share stories that would otherwise be left untold.”

In the other category, tagged Most Resilient Journalist of the Year, are Claudia Duque, a Colombian investigative journalist; Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist; and Mohamed al-Qadhi, a war correspondent from Yemen.

Of the three finalists in this category, the organisers said: “Claudia Duque from Colombia investigates disappearances, forced recruitment of children and the impact of impunity. As a result of her investigation into the murder of journalist Jaime Garzón, she has been threatened for many years, and even abducted.

“Hamid Mir from Pakistan is an acclaimed journalist and one of the best-known television journalists. He was the first journalist to interview Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks. In 2012 the Pakistani Taliban tried to murder him, however the bomb failed to go off.

“Mohamed al-Qadhi from Yemen is one of the few journalists that reported from the frontlines about the fights between the rebels and the Yemini army”.

“Nominees of the Most Resilient Journalist have often faced imprisonment, violence and censorship for doing their job,” read the statement.

“They have shown a strong commitment to press freedom and independent information, and are generally highly-regarded journalists who are willing to risk their life or their freedom in order to keep the public informed.”

The two winners of the awards will be named and rewarded in The Hague during the Free Press Live 2016 at De Nieuwe Regentes, The Hague, Netherlands, on November 2.

Soyombo’s short-listing for the 2016 Kurt Schork Awards was for his three stories of 2015: an undercover investigation into corruption at Apapa ports, a feature on the practice of female genital mutilation in some parts of Nigeria, and a three-part investigation into Liberia’s post-Ebola recovery.

He was first short-listed for the award in 2014, for ‘Blood on the Plateau’ — a five-part investigative series on the ethnocentric killings in Plateau state, published in December 2013. That year’s finalists were chosen from “almost 300 stories entered by 93 journalists from 41 countries”

Soyombo, a 2013 recipient of the Deutsche Welle/Orange Magazine Global Fellowship for Young Journalists, contributes opinions to Doha, Qatar-headquartered Al Jazeera and Germany-based TAZ.

A finalist for the 2015 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist from the Developing World FPA Award, his works have been translated into French, German and Arabic.