4th annual African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award

All African journalists are invited to submit entries for the prestigious 2026 African Investigative Journalist of the Year Award, an initiative of the Wits Centre for Journalism and the annual African Investigative Journalism Conference. The prize money includes US$5000 for the winner, US$2000 for the runner-up, while the flights and accommodation costs of all finalists are covered to enable them to attend the AIJC.

Thematics

• The award, supported by Absa, recognises outstanding examples of investigative reporting from Africa that reveal untold stories, hold the powerful to account, question those in public life and serve the public interest.
• The award ceremony will be held during this year’s African Investigative Journalism Conference scheduled to take place in Nairobi, Kenya from 10 to 12 November 2026.

Eligibility

• The award is open to all African journalists or teams of journalists working in any media for stories from and about Africa published or broadcast in African media.
• The submission must have been published or broadcast between 1 July 2025 and 1 July 2026.
• Submissions can be a single story or a series of stories published or broadcast in an African country. No individual / team may submit more than two entries. Each entry may consist of no more than five stories.
• The submissions are judged by a panel of judges according to a set of criteria agreed to by them. The criteria include:

How to apply

Send entry materials, A short motivation for the entry (maximum 500 words), a short biography (100 words), high-res copy of the publication/broadcaster’s logo and entry form to aijc.awards@journalism.co.za. Entries close at 5pm (SAST) on 10 July 2026. Apply here.

For more information, please visit this page.