Graduate Asha Ahmed Mwilu was awarded the 2016 Overall Award at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards for her investigative documentary, Terror Crossing, which unearthed some of the ways that terrorists are managing to cross the border from Somalia into Kenya.
“When I travelled to the KenyaSomalia border, Al Shabaab militants had perpetrated dozens of attacks in mainland Kenya and killed more than 1,000 people.”
Graduate scoops award for terrorism documentary
Asha Ahmed Mwilu, MA Documentary Practices, Farnham, 2016
Images courtesy of Asha Ahmed Mwilu
16 CREATIVE UPDATE
With the UK government advising against all but essential travel, and the Kenyan government imposing a curfew* between the hours of 6.30pm and 6.30am, the notorious Mandera County is a region gripped by fear and unrest. The threat of terror attacks by Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab is extremely high and Mandera County has found itself in the international spotlight for being a weak link in border security and a hotspot for corruption. “When I travelled to the Kenya-Somalia border, Al Shabaab militants had perpetrated dozens of attacks in mainland Kenya and killed more than 1,000 people,” Asha says. Following months of research and piecing together information from major events, Asha spent almost two weeks with a video journalist in Mandera County to document and expose just how dangerous and lax border security is. “My strategy was to tell the story in very simple words,” she explains. “Kenyans had often interacted with heavy investigative reports about terrorism which often painted a complicated picture about the state of security. I think the audience appreciated that our investigations opened up a backstory to all the terror attacks we had suffered in such a coherent way. “In 2011, the Kenyan military launched an excursion into Somalia to flush out the Al Shabaab following a series of pirate attacks and high-profile abductions along the Coastal line. After such an important decision, Kenyans expected that our borders with Somalia would be heavily guarded to cushion the retaliatory attacks that were expected. Our investigations, however, revealed shocking details of a border manned by a handful of ill-equipped police officers during the day and left completely unguarded at night.
“We also unearthed the border county to be a major corruption zone with officers admitting on camera that they would often take bribes even from suspected terrorists to allow them to ferry goods into Kenya. “One other important intrigue we learnt during our production in Mandera was the clan dynamic among the community harbouring the region. Different clans from the larger Somali tribe occupy Northern Kenya, making it easy for Al Shabaab recruits to hide among the civilians and to use family ties in both Kenya and Somalia to remain undetected.” The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist Awards are the most prestigious and respected accolades for journalists across the African continent. On being named the joint winner of the Overall Award, Asha says: “It’s always a bittersweet moment to win an award in journalism because we are fuelled by so many selfless moments when we do our work. This award, however, is so different as it raises the credibility to my name as an African journalist and more importantly reignites debate on a subject I am most passionate about. It really is a great honour to be recognised on the continent.” *In place until 28 March 2017 at time of print.
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