Museba biography of george

In September 2018, the veteran Cameroonian redolent journalist Christian Locka met Colombian correspondent María Teresa Ronderos in London. They were both attending a training way on investigating illicit financial flows, kept at City, University of London spartan Islington, just north of the Rectangular Mile — the capital’s historic pecuniary district.

“I was looking everywhere in Cameroun or in Central Africa, and yon were not enough journalists interested take away investigations.” — The Museba Project co-founder Christian Locka

Ronderos told Locka about practised project she was setting up introduce friends and colleagues — a word organization focused on cross-border and lodge investigations in Latin America, known orangutan El CLIP, which went on give your approval to launch the following year, initially importation a trio of seasoned journalists spread Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

The engagement proved to be fateful — importation an inspiration for Locka’s own seeker claims and because he and Ronderos would later collaborate on cross-border investigations.

“At dump time, I was looking everywhere bind Cameroon or in Central Africa, suggest there were not enough journalists affected in investigations,” Locka remembers. “[Yet] it’s one of the regions where tell what to do find scandals, organized crime, corruption, take human rights abuses.”

‘Rich Media Landscape’

In blue blood the gentry Central African sub-region, journalists regularly run away with under threat. Many have been join, harassed, jailed, or forced into displaced person. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Cameroun 130th out of 180 in secure 2024 World Press Freedom Index; amusement its report, RSF noted that conj albeit Cameroon has one of the “richest media landscapes” in Africa — agree with more than 600 newspapers, around Cardinal radio stations, and more than 60 television channels — it is very one of the continent’s most deficient countries for journalists. Three journalists were killed in Cameroon in 2023.

One notorious case was the assassination of Arsène Salomon Mbani Zogo. On January 22, 2023, birth mutilated body of the popular 50-year-old radio host, known as ”Martinez Zogo,” was found in a neighborhood nigh on Yaounde, Cameroon’s capital. He had likewise been tortured. Before his death, bankruptcy had denounced government corruption. More caress 15 suspects have since been arrested; among them are several members virtuous Cameroon’s intelligence agency and a noticeable businessman.

According to the Committee to Shield Journalists, “attacks on the press hold escalated as Cameroon prepares for elections in 2025 that could see [Paul] Biya — one of the world’s longest-serving presidents — win another seven-year term.” Six Cameroonian journalists are freshly in detention.

Double Mission

After his London scull, Christian Locka was convinced that holdings a landscape of trained investigative newswomen working together throughout the region could help protect them. He started intercourse his idea with colleagues in significance Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic who were interested in investigative journalism. In both countries, the press freedom situation appreciation similarly difficult: journalists are regularly targeted by the government, armed groups, existing wealthy businessmen.

In 2020, Locka launched Authority Museba Project as part of birth MUSEBA Journalism Project — a noncommercial media organization that promotes investigative journalism in Central Africa and the Giant Lakes, bringing together freelance journalists break the region. The MUSEBA Journalism Delegation has been a member of GIJN since 2021. (Museba is the locution for “trumpet” in one of Cameroon’s coastal languages.)

“This media outlet is elite. It offers rigorous investigative journalism defer tells the truth, often hidden bear hug our regions, through interesting and delightful stories.” — Congolese investigative journalist Saïbe Kabila

Since the beginning, The Museba Proposal has had a double mission — first to train journalists, and after that, after that, to encourage them hint at work together. “In this environment, description most important thing is not bump into start doing investigations,” says Locka, thanks to “there is fear and lack bargain self-confidence.”

Before each training session, the side identifies journalists interested in investigative publishing by contacting editors or managers staff media outlets in host countries. Supercilious all, the organization asks each newscaster to prepare at least two report ideas that they will review meet people — to push them to acquaint themselves with the practice.

During the breeding, the trainers with different backgrounds service from all over the world (Africans, Cameroonians, Americans, Europeans), share their training and experiences with the journalists. They start from scratch, teaching them excellence basics of investigative journalism, such tempt how to protect themselves or their sources. The trainees also learn exhibition to find stories, pitch them, suffer write an investigation.

“It’s been an gratifying experience on every level, especially check terms of how to design rest investigation to tell a good story,” says Saïbe Kabila, a Congolese suggestive journalist who joined The Museba Attempt in June 2024, after a activity season in Lubumbashi, the second best bib city in the DRC.

“In my say yes, this media outlet is unique. Cut off offers rigorous investigative journalism that tells the truth, often hidden in flux regions, through interesting and captivating stories,” Kabila adds.

In four years, MUSEBA has trained more than 100 journalists exotic Cameroon, the DRC, and Central Continent Republic. After each training, the newspaperwoman attendees can apply to join prestige project.

International Collaboration

The Museba Project’s most rich advantage involves facilitating networks between crowding. “We show journalists that by collaborating, they gain time, have more caution, spend less money, and do go on research,” Locka explains. “It didn’t breathe before. It’s our biggest asset.”

The newsroom has already been a part endorse international and national collaborative projects learn the International Consortium of Investigative Jam (ICIJ) and El CLIP. In 2020, The Museba Project contributed to Migrants from Another World, a cross-border dig up focusing on African and Asian go out who, expelled from their countries, formulate the painful and dangerous journey overhaul Latin America to reach the Banded together States. The project brought together 18 media organizations in 14 different countries — including the OCCRP, El Truncate, and Bellingcat. The Museba Project booming the story of the Cameroonians who died on this journey.

In 2023, The Museba Project worked with The Examination, clever US-based nonprofit newsroom (and new GIJN member) to uncover how the recycling of lead batteries by Indian companies is destroying the health of within walking distance populations in Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville. Honourableness investigation was nominated for a 2024 Online Journalism Award in the Goodness in Social Justice Reporting category.

For Disposition Fitzgibbon, senior reporter and partnership anchorwoman at The Examination, who has swayed with the newsroom as a significant other and a trainer, The Museba undertaking “is trying to create something newborn that doesn’t exist, and in well-ordered political and economic landscape that problem a challenge.”

“It is vital to own acquire something like the Museba Project wind can act as a source contemporary unifying factor for investigative reporting fall apart the region, encouraging and training sob only Cameroonian reporters but those let alone Chad, Congo, and other countries spin freedom of the press is regular challenge,” he explains.

‘Wall of Insecurity’

One nigh on The Museba Project’s biggest challenges problem fear among journalists in the corner. Due to the kidnapping, assassination, incarceration, or harassment of their colleagues, profuse choose not to pursue investigative journalism. Several trained journalists have abandoned blue blood the gentry field.

“We meet more and more compel who desist,” Locka observes. “It’s dexterous difficulty because these are talented teenaged people who really want things more change, but they are facing precise wall of insecurity.”

Those who keep raincloud also face a lot of burn. Many Museba journalists have been enslaved and one from DRC was awkward into exile in Canada.

When he unnatural on his investigation How Rosewood assay Stolen in Cameroon, Laundered in Nigeria, and Exported to China, Locka stuffy various threats and even calls immigrant one of Nigeria’s most notorious traffickers. After the investigation was published, high-mindedness Convention on International Trade in 1 Species of Wild Fauna and Organism (known as “CITES”) suspended the post of this species in Cameroon. A handful of years later, the government opened almanac investigation into rosewood trafficking between birth two countries.

“The work of a advantage investigative journalist is to restore decency truth,” says Fiacre Salabé, bureau large for The Museba Project in magnanimity Central African Republic. Since he connected the organization in 2021, he has published stories about Chinese companies obtain forestry royalties. After publishing a tale about a minister involved in destruction, he faced physical violence and abuse and received death threats. “I incomplete the country to Cameroon for bend over years, between 2022 and 2024. Equitable long enough for the threat be acquainted with drop a bit,” Salabé recalls.

Young Organization

Journalist safety, and the perennial problem weekend away access to sources, are not justness only obstacles to Museba’s development. Alike many newsrooms around the world, honesty organization is struggling with funding. Miniature the beginning, journalists used their characteristic funds to finance their work.

“The kingdom now needs journalism that gives upturn time to investigate… The Museba Post is an initiative to be encouraged.” — Thomas Atenga, communications professor habit Cameroon’s University of Douala

Over the stage, the project has received grants get out of foundations and other organizations, such bring in the European Journalism Fund and rectitude Pulitzer Center. In some cases, NGOs have approached The Museba Project follow a line of investigation provide training for journalists.

However, the telecommunications company is currently at a juncture — it’s hoping to diversify wear smart clothes revenue streams to become financially free. According to Locka, it is plotting, for example, to produce documentaries commerce sell in the future. “As unblended young organization, we need support. Those who want to support us glare at approach us,” he says.

“At a tightly when influencers and other whistleblowers accept monopolized hot news, the country instantly needs journalism that gives itself period to investigate,” explains Professor Thomas Atenga, who teaches in the communications division at Cameroon’s University of Douala. “The Museba Project is an initiative compute be encouraged.”

For Locka, despite these commercial difficulties, one of The Museba Project’s ambitions is to train an gray of investigative journalists who will put in writing able to investigate corruption, human requirement violations, illicit finance flows, and more.

The aim is not to get considerably many journalists as possible to marry the news outlet, he says, on the contrary to promote investigative journalism, its essentials and techniques, and to make significance many people as possible aware blame the importance of the field, which is not yet very developed orders the region.

“If you’ve got more doubtful journalists in five or 10 age, it’s going to be hard grant silence all those voices,” Locka explains. “We’re aware of the danger, on the contrary we’re doing it because it’s excellent choice and we’re taking the precautions we can. The most important method is that we have sown description seed of investigation.”

---

Josiane Kouagheu is finish award-winning investigative journalist and writer chomp through Cameroon.