African Press Agency journalist Abdourahmane Diallo has claimed the main prize of the online press category of the 13th edition of the journalism awards night in Dakar last weekend.
Organised by the Senegal Young Reporters Association (CJRS), the Apanews journalist won first prize in the Online Press category for his multimedia investigation into cattle rustling—a phenomenon with devastating consequences for Senegalese livestock farming.
Diallo trained at the Centre for Studies in Information Sciences and Technologies (CESTI), secured the top gong in the Online Press category at the 13th National Press Gala, held Saturday at the Doudou Ndiaye Coumba Rose Grand National Theatre in Dakar.
The award recognises his investigative report, “Cattle Rustling in Senegal: The Herd Betrayed from Within,” which focuses on one of the greatest challenges facing the Senegalese livestock sector.
The result of several weeks of reporting across various localities in the central region of the country—including Dinguiraye, Ndramé Escale, Missirah Wadène, and Ngainthe Pathé—the investigation sheds light on a rarely discussed reality: cattle rustlers are frequently members of the local communities themselves, sometimes exploiting family ties or a code of silence (omerta) that hampers criminal prosecution.
Through interviews with livestock farmers, community leaders, administrative authorities, and experts, the report illustrates how this crime incurs heavy financial losses, deters investment in the sector, and forces some farmers to abandon an activity vital to the rural economy.
Featuring field photography, infographics, and a documentary video, the investigation also analyses the limitations of the crackdown on rustling despite a 2017 law criminalising the practice.
It outlines several potential solutions, including strengthening livestock traceability, improving regional cooperation, and increasing local community involvement in prevention initiatives.
According to data cited in the report, Senegalese livestock farmers lose nearly 2 billion CFA francs annually to this illicit trade, with 22,000 to 30,000 head of cattle disappearing each year.
The first prize awarded to Abdourahmane Diallo honours a body of work that blends field investigation, data collection, multimedia storytelling, and an analysis of the economic and social issues surrounding livestock farming.
Organised by the CJRS, the National Press Gala drew a record-breaking 140 entries. Twenty-seven awards were presented during the ceremony to celebrate journalistic excellence.
This latest accolade adds to Diallo’s growing list of achievements. He previously won first prize in an investigative journalism competition organised in January 2025 by CESTI, in partnership with Oxfam Senegal.
On that occasion, he was rewarded for an in-depth piece on Senegal’s strategic environmental and social assessment (SESA) readiness as a newly emergent oil and gas producer. That same report also earned him second place in a previous CJRS competition.
Just days earlier, another Apanews journalist, photographer Assane Guèye, was named 2024 Photographer of the Year by the CJRS for a snapshot of MP Guy Marius Sagna taken during the inauguration of the 14th legislature.
These successive accolades underscore the high quality of journalism produced at Apanews, which is routinely recognised in Senegal’s professional media awards.
AC/Sf/lb/as/APA