Rachelle Some, aspiring investigative journalist in Burkina Faso. Photo: Helene Chéret/FUJ

Young journalists in Burkina Faso want to be investigative journalists, although the fear of being arrested, persecuted and not being taken seriously comes with the job

By Helene Chéret, Journalist 

Young and hopeful reporters were amongst the 17 journalists gathered in Centre National de Presse de Norbert Zongo in Ouagadougou on the last Saturday of February for an introduction to the Programme for African Investigative Reporting (PAIR). They sat quietly and listened carefully to more experienced collegues describing and expressing their concern about the media situation in Burkina Faso.

The fear of being arrested and prosecuted is very much alive, especially following the fate of Norbert Zongo, a publisher and editor of the Burkina Faso newspaper l'Indépendant. He was assassinated in 1998 after his newspaper began investigating the murder of a driver who had worked for the brother of President Blaise Compaoré.

Enemy of the government

One of the three female journalists present at the seminar organised by International Media Support (IMS) and the Danish Association of Investigative Journalism (FUJ) was Rachelle Some. Rachelle works as a journalist at the radio station, Radio Pulsar in Ouagadougou and she has her mind set on doing investigative stories so that people can get the right information.

- I want to make stories which are in the interest of the people of Burkina Faso - like for instance about the water sold in bottles. Some of the firms fill the bottles with tap water which can poison the consumers. How can get they get away with that?

A story like that can get her into trouble depending of how powerful the owner of the firm is. In general the problem in making critical investigations in Burkina Faso is that she will be viewed as a marionette of the opposition.

- If I do a critical story, I am seen as someone who wants to hurt the government. The risk is that the reader does not take me and my story seriously. That’s a big problem, she says.

Not a job for a woman

The seminar in Burkina Faso was held to inform local journalists about the IMS and FUJ-supported Programme for African Investigative Reporting (PAIR) which provides grants for journalists in Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to carry out investigative journalism. The programme aims to boost investigative reporting in West Africa through grants and workshops. 

The issue of being taken seriously comes back to Rachelle Some again and again. 

-  When I first told my parents that I wanted to be a journalist they tried to talk med out of it. That’s too dangerous, they said. It’s not a job for a woman. But the important thing for me is that I really like being a reporter, so I keep going. Today my parents are proud of me.

Need for role models

Rachelle Some thinks it is important for young journalists to have experienced journalists with credibility to look up to. She mentions the journalist Ramata Soré who normally works for the paper, l’Independat and who is now studying in the United States.

- We need role models, especially for us women. We are always told that we ought to get married and stay at home. And then I just think of the investigative journalist Ramata Soré. When she can do it, so can I, says Rachelle Some.

Read more here about the Programme for African Investigative Reporting (PAIR) and how to apply.

Helene Chéret is a Danish journalist and FUJ coordinator of PAIR