Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya, a TV and radio host from Zambia, has won the 2022 BBC News Komla Dumor Award.
Buyoya, who won the prize at age 25, is the youngest of the seven winners from southern Africa to date since it was established in 2015.
He began working for Diamond Television in Zambia five years ago and is currently a TV host and reporter there.
The honor was established to remember Komla Dumor, a BBC World News presenter who passed away unexpectedly in 2014 at the age of 41.
Buyoya follows in the footsteps of Victoria Rubadiri, Solomon Serwanjja, Waihiga Mwaura, Amina Yuguda, Didi Akinyelure and Nancy Kacungira.
The runner-up for this year’s prize is Ivory Coast’s Lindsay Aida Guei, who presents her own talk show on Canal+ Elles, an Africa-focused TV channel.
The Zambian reporter will spend three months working with BBC News teams in London across TV, radio, and online. He will also receive training and be mentored by leading BBC journalists.
As part of the placement, he will travel to a country in Africa to report on a story that will be broadcast to the BBC’s global audiences.
“Finding out I’d won the BBC News Komla Dumor Award is one of the best things to have happened in my life,” Buyoya says.
“I have a huge admiration for Komla’s prodigious work. I’ve always wanted to be a journalist and I’d watch back Komla’s news reports, inspired by his powerful storytelling and his dedication to covering Africa authentically.
“I’m truly grateful to be part of Komla’s legacy.”
The judges praised Buyoya for his journalism, his charisma, and his passion for sharing stories about the continent through digital platforms.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Buyoya to BBC News. We’re excited by his journalistic talent, and seeing him flourish during his BBC placement,” says BBC Africa head Juliet Njeri.
“His dedication to ensuring important news stories from Africa are told in a compelling and engaging way, makes him ideal to help to continue Komla’s legacy – sharing nuanced and comprehensive stories about the continent.”
The BBC’s Komla Dumor had a charismatic presenting style