Rosebell Kagumire: Humanitarian, Journalist, blogger.

In November last year I happened to stumble over The fantastic Lesley Anne Warner followed in  December by The Amazing  Nnenna Amushan both are must read blogs. On Tuesday the Ugandan police managed to piss me off. Getting annoyed with the Ugandan authorities is nothing new for me but in the process of checking a few things out it happened again that I came across yet another must read African blogger.

                                                          


Rosebell Kagumire a journalist from Kampala Uganda and a woman of insight  into the changes that are happening on that amazing continent. In Rosebell's own words

 I am a Ugandan multimedia journalist working on media, women, peace and conflict issues. I work with Isis-Women’s International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) and I contribute articles to Inter Press Service (IPS Africa). I am completing my masters study in Media, Conflict and Peace studies from the University for Peace in Costa Rica. I have also studied non-violent conflict at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

At Isis-WICCE, I document lives, needs and contributions of women in several conflict and post-conflict countries in Africa.

I have in past worked for different Ugandan media including Daily Monitor, Uganda Radio Network, NTV Uganda, The Independent news magazine. Other international outlets I have worked with are the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

My work on peace and security was recognised at the 2008 Ugandan Investigative Journalism Awards hosted by Makerere University Department of Mass Communication. My blog won the first African journalist blogging awards hosted by Panos West Africa in 2009 and the 2010 VOICE blogging fellowship by Oxfam GB.

OK most of my readership will immediately realise that I am hopelessly out of my depth yet again. Not an unusual situation for me. Rosebell is not out of her depth. I particularly enjoyed her recent blog about Goma and the conditions that journalists have to contend with in getting news out to the rest of the world.  I have of course my own sources  in Goma but was fascinating to read about constraints on the professionals.

" When I read international analysts saying that the problem of Congo is a weak state and weak government, I am surprised.  I live here and everyday I meet the Congolese state, ready to extort from me, ready to jail you if you have a divergent view, ready to take you on! So it is a lie to say the problem of Congo is a weak state! It is a matter of priorities!"

Anonymous.

  

If you are still reading this blog you are crazy. Go and have a read of  Rosebell.