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First Person

Photo: USAID/Reverie Zurbas Investigative journalist Thembi Majombozi, left, meets with USAID program officer Nomea Masihleho in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss a journalism workshop.

Investigative journalist Thembi Majombozi believes that the a USAID-sponsored workshop will increase the amount of investigative reporting in South Africa.

The stamping of feet and cries for freedom echoed through Soweto’s streets on June 16, 1976. The children of South Africa’s liberation struggle fought for human rights that day 30 years ago. World media reported the news. Thembi Majombozi was one of these children. Today, she continues fighting for human rights through journalism.

“Our country has made very positive developments,” says Thembi, who was 15 years old at the time of the Soweto uprising. She is now a journalist tackling issues of poverty, women’s rights, children, and people with disabilities.

Thembi describes herself as a “vigorous” reader and says that journalism today lacks thoroughness — something she strives to achieve each time she writes a story. She is one of 12 working journalists participating in the USAID-supported Investigative Journalism Workshop at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg.

Thembi envisions using her new skills in investigative journalism to report on social and community development. She is currently reporting on victims of domestic violence and abuse, with her main stories focusing on victims of femicide.

Journalism is changing in South Africa, but Thembi says that she still sees very little investigative reporting taking place. She believes that the USAID-sponsored workshop will help fill that gap.

Through the development of investigative journalism in South Africa, Thembi sees journalists making an impact socially, professionally and politically. The progress will bring important changes at home in South Africa, and set a strong example for other journalists throughout Africa and the rest of the world.

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