Lecture by Kenyan journalist Rosemary Tollo
On Monday, October 27, the Faculty of Journalism hosted a lecture by Rosemary Tollo, a journalist specializing in justice.
Rosemary worked as an editor at The Standard, one of Kenya’s leading newspapers, and is now the co-founder and program director of Journalists for Justice (JFJ), a media organization that supports journalists across Africa in covering international crimes and human rights issues.
Among the topics the journalist has worked on are the Gambia’s reparations program (for victims of human rights abuses committed under the former Jammeh regime), post-election violence in Kenya, and, starting in 2024, the experiences of African prisoners of war in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
A few (not verbatim) quotes from the lecture:
“When I started interviewing Africans (from Ghana, Togo, Somalia, Egypt, Sierra Leone, etc.) who had been captured by the Ukrainians, each story was different. But there was a common pattern: they all suffered from “selective amnesia.” They could not remember the recruitment process, did not know who had issued them a Russian visa, could not tell anything about the details of their stay in Moscow – neither about the recruiter they had contacted, nor about the address where they lived before signing the contract. On the other hand, their memory worked very well for everything related to the period after they had been in the Russian army. I realized that it was necessary to check everything they said. I went to Kenya to talk to the family of a Kenyan prisoner. I will also go to Ghana and Egypt to talk to the families of other prisoners.”
“On Friday I visited the camp again. Petro, who was helping me look for prisoners from Africa, asked the local officer how many Africans they had and what countries they were from. The officer replied that they had Africans, for example from Yemen. Petro noted that Yemen is not Africa. Then the officer said that there were prisoners from Sri Lanka. Petro had to say again that Sri Lanka is not in Africa… I am often convinced that people know little about Africa, are little interested in it. One prisoner, originally from Togo, told me that he did not know about the possibility of fighting for Ukraine, did not know that Ukraine was ready to pay him the same salary as Russia. After all, only Russians are conducting a recruitment campaign in their country.”
“I cannot be objective when covering crimes and trials. Psychologically, I am always on the side of the victim, although a professional journalist must also take into account the voices of criminals and witnesses. I am on the side of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, because it is completely clear who is the aggressor and who is the victim in this story.”
“Since the beginning of the war, Kenya has taken a pro-Ukrainian position, actively speaking out in support of Ukraine at the UN. At the same time, there are many pro-Russian governments in Africa, especially in French-speaking countries, where Russia is actively working. Ukrainian officers told me that Ukraine is not against the idea of negotiating with African governments on the return of their citizens from Ukrainian captivity. The problem is that not many African governments have approached Ukraine on this issue. But the Kenyan government has approached, and one Kenyan has already returned home from Ukrainian captivity.”
“I do not run any social networks, I do not accept this format itself. It seems to me that very often journalists try to sell their personality to the audience, which overshadows the journalistic work itself. If the personality of a journalist becomes more important than the story he tells, then this is wrong. I never try to promote myself or my articles. I try to write good articles, that’s all. “
“How to realize yourself in journalism in conditions of high competition? Start by learning as many languages as possible. You already know Ukrainian. Improve your English. Since you are next to the European Union, learn another important language, for example, German, French or Spanish. Think about internships abroad that would allow you to improve your knowledge and grow. Languages and professional training will already give you an advantage over your specific ones. Think about the field in which you would like to work. If your hobby is sports journalism, find ways to improve in it. There are many fields in which there is almost no competition. For example, journalism in the field of law – they don’t apply there very often, because they think it’s boring, but in this field you can go far.”
“The list of questions for an interview is rarely a personal matter for a journalist. In my editorial office, we all get together and think about whether we need this particular story, this particular interview. If we do, why? What exactly do we want to know from this person? Understanding this, we try to figure out what questions our journalist should ask in order to get the answers we need. It happens that a story appears unexpectedly, and there is no time for collective preparation for the interview. In this case, the journalist simply comes and asks those questions, the answers to which, in his opinion, will interest our audience.”
Based on the materials of the Department of Foreign Press and Information on Facebook
