The transnational investigation into the recruitment of African young women for Russia’s Alabuga drone site (see link to main story) was conducted by investigative journalists from seven African countries. They are featured below.
Charles Mafa began the investigation in response to the mixed messaging received by the public in his home country, Zambia, caught between an intensive propaganda campaign and recruitment drive for Alabuga on one side, and troubling international reports on the other. He reached out to the Network of African Investigative Reporters and Editors (NAIRE), of which he is a member, leading to a seven-country collaborative project. In his day-to-day work, Mafa is a veteran investigative journalist and the co-founder and managing partner of the MakanDay Zambia Centre for Investigative Journalism. He has worked with both Zambian and international media, served as a mentor for BBC Media Action, and received multiple awards.
ZAM collaborated with Makanday on the Alabuga project.
Elizabeth BanyiTabi was reporting on the growing desertion of Cameroonian soldiers to Russia when the ZAM and NAIRE Alabuga project came along, focusing on Russian recruitment of girls for the arms industry. As a NAIRE member herself, she expanded her investigation to examine the deeper motives driving not only soldiers but also young people across Cameroon to seek escape, even if it means going to war in a foreign country. Working under conditions of oppression and censorship, BanyiTabi has published her reporting in outlets including the Cameroonian Guardian Post, ZAM Magazine, and the Guardian (UK), among others.
Samuel Baker Byansi is an investigative journalist, human rights advocate, and NAIRE member who previously worked in Rwanda. He was forced to leave the country under the increasingly oppressive rule of Paul Kagame and later authored From Watchdogs to Traitors: The Less You Know, The More You Believe, an account of the decline of Rwanda’s media landscape amid the co-option, intimidation, and betrayal of journalistic principles that accompanied Kagame’s state capture. Now in exile, Byansi continues to investigate the region from abroad. He is also a laureate of the 2025 Difference Day Honorary Title for Freedom of Expression, awarded by Brussels’ Free University.
Emmanuel Mutaizibwa’s experience spans both journalism and legal research. A NAIRE member, he is a journalist and lawyer by profession, and has served as political editor and investigations editor at Uganda’s Nation Media Group. In 2019, he co-founded the East African Centre for Investigative Reporting, where he is now Managing Partner. His articles and films have appeared in South Africa’s Sunday Times, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Al Jazeera, Vice Media Group, TRT World, The Guardian, and ZAM.
Josephine Chinele is a multi-award-winning investigative journalist with the Platform for Investigative Journalism in Malawi and a member of NAIRE. She is a two-time Pulitzer reporting grantee and a former fellow at the Los Angeles Times. Her work focuses on the exploitation of African citizens, as well as issues of oppression, corruption, and poor governance.
Beloved John covers foreign and diaspora issues for Nigeria’s leading news platform, Premium Times. Despite her young age, she has already reported for prominent Nigerian media outlets, including Order Paper, the country’s foremost independent parliamentary monitoring organisation and policy think tank, as well as the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
William Moige is a journalist at East Africa’s renowned media house, Africa Uncensored. Driven by a “deep commitment to uncovering truth and amplifying unheard voices,” as he describes it, Moige specialises in stories that not only expose corruption and defend human rights but also investigate and challenge broken systems. His investigative work earned him the Outstanding Media Security and Safety Award in Kenya in 2024. Like his media house, Moige believes journalism should not only inform but also ignite change and improve lives.
ZAM and Africa Uncensored partnered on the Alabuga project.
The project was coordinated and edited by Evelyn Groenink, Investigations Editor at ZAM.
See all the instalments in this Transnational Investigation here
Migrant Battalion | African governments collude with the Russian recruitment of young women into its arms industry
Zambia | First contact
Cameroon | Looking for Oceanne
Great Lakes | Caught in the snow
Malawi | Sixteen unseen girls
Uganda | Trafficking station
Nigeria | A dodgy channel
Zimbabwe | Left behind
Kenya | Credible and licensed agents
Op-ed | The global threat of Russian recruitment in Africa
Discover more from MAKANDAY
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
