Cameroonian journalist wins Bibi Ngota prize

Sébastian Chi Elvido's project on forest and mining resources; impunity and corruption opencast in Cameroon is what earned him the winner of the 3rd edition of the Prix international Bibi Ngota. The correspondent of the Cameroonian daily newspaper Mutations in the eastern region received one million francs Cfa as a reward.

The other winner, Steven Ozias Kiemtoré of Burkina Faso daily Sidwaya also won the Special price of the Tribunal with the article "axis Lomé-Ouagadougou: five days of rubbing shoulders with death. Steven Ozias Kiemtoré received an amount of 300,000 Cfa francs.

The Special price tagged "ten grams of ten minutes of reading info" went to another Cameroonian Edith Wirdze. Her article is titled "sexual abuse on children happens on Daily Basis." It was published on ewirdzedotcom.wordpress.com. For her reward, she received 200,000 Cfa francs.

Competitors were assessed by a jury composed of journalists Jean-Bruno Taba (Le Jour, Cameroun), Cyriaque Ebolé Bola (Mutations, Cameroon); Agnès Taile (Septentrion, USA); Dibussi Tande (blogger for Scribbles from the Den, United States); Inou Simon (former journalist of Le Messager, Austria); Herbert Boh (journalist, United States). They considered applications from Senegal, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon.

Now biannual, this award celebrates journalistic work of excellence and courage. It was established in memory of Cameroonian journalist Bibi Ngota who died in prison in 2010.

Previous winners for the 2013 edition include: Charles Ngah Nforgang, Christian Locka from Cameroon and Dialtabé Diop from Mauritania for the 2012 eition; Anne Matho and Corine Kouetcha from Cameroun, and Dialtabé Diop from Mauritanie.