Veteran Cameroonian journalist and VOA reporter Moki Edwin Kindzeka has been named “Best Reporter of the Year” at a star-studded ceremony that organizers call Cameroon’s first ever academy awards.
Moki Edwin missed walking the red carpet during the December 29th event because he was in East Cameroon working on a VOA story about a cross border infiltration by rebels from Central African Republic.
Despite missing the ceremony, Moki Edwin said: “The award has encouraged me to work harder for more distinctions in the future.” He said he was dedicating the award to the many voiceless people he has been reporting on.
The Sonnah Awards were started in 2013 by the Sonnah Foundation, which “is dedicated to the promotion, recognition and celebration of exceptional achievements in Cameroonian film, music, fashion, television and digital media. Stars from across the spectrum took part in the event.
In addition to his work for VOA, Moki Edwin is a local TV reporter in Yaounde and files for other western broadcasters.
In the past year, he has written a series of reports for VOA on key social issues at home, as well as the impact fighting in nearby CAR is having on Cameroon, and on border tensions triggered by fighting between Nigerian forces and the Islamist Boko Haram militant group in Borno State.
In 2010 Moki Edwin was named The Cameroon Guardian Post reporter of the year, and he won an environmental reporting award that included a trip to Britain and several journalism courses with Reuters and the BBC.
VOA Journalist in Cameroon Wins “Best Reporter” Award
