Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between young journalists. The 26-year-old investigative journalist who works at Africa Uncensored in Kenya, beat 226 journalists from 60 countries to win the coveted prize.
Paying tribute to the courage' of those who trust her to tell their stories, Tracy says the award is an incredible honour'. She was unable to travel to London for the Foreign Press Association (FPA) ceremony because of delays in the visa process. The audience was shown a pre-recorded speech. Here Tracy reveals what inspired her to become an investigative journalist, the risks that go with the job and her hopes for the future.
Congratulations on being named Young Journalist of the Year. How did you celebrate? On Monday [the night of the award ceremony in London] I just decided to go home and sleep and not think about it because I was having a lot of anxiety. Then on Tuesday morning, one of my colleagues just calls me and is like, Congratulations!
Im like, What are you talking about? And she said, You actually won.
So, I came to work and celebrated with my colleagues and also with my family.
Do you hope this win will open the door to more opportunities for you? I believe it will because speaking to other people who submitted their stories, you realise that we all have the same challenges, [but] we are reporting independently. So bringing in the cross-border aspect we all have similar problems and reporting on them together is something I'm really looking forward to. Also, getting an opportunity to mentor younger journalists younger than me. Weve already started something in our organisation called Campus Tours, where we go to various universities and mentor young journalists. But now this should be able to open doors for us to be able to even reach younger journalists outside Kenya and beyond African borders.
Who or what inspired you to become an investigative journalist? It's actually my current boss where I work - his name is John-Allan Namu. I remember when I was younger, he used to have an investigative show on KTN, one of the channels in Kenya. It was called Jicho Pevu, thats Swahili, and the English version was called The Inside Story. And just watching him tell these stories and humanising issues that were rarely discussed and then following up and ensuring justice is served, at least to the best of their degree, him and his colleague Mohammad Ali, really inspired me.
What sort stories do you like to cover and how do you choose the ones you are going to investigate? I like to call them passion projects because if Im passionate about something, best believe Im going to work on it. Of the three stories I submitted, one was on sports. I love sports a lot...and stories that focus on women, children and gender minorities. In Kenya, especially for gender minorities, those stories are hardly ever covered because most of the time journalists might be afraid of the backlash that comes with covering such stories. Weve seen it. When we cover a gender minority story, the one piece of advice youre given is never go back to the comments section.
The process is that my editor or the head of investigations will come and tell me theres this story that we have. Do you think it's something you could work on? Then Ill tell them, link me to the source and Ill listen to them and after listening to them, I cant explain it but if I feel it in my heart, then Im going to do it.
[The job] is not easy. It can get quite dangerous, but its very fulfilling
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke - Young Journalist of the Year 2025
You have mentioned the risks that come with telling these stories. How do you manage those risks? Now we have a dedicated social media team to handle such issues. We also have therapy where you can just go and talk to people. Between us in the newsroom, if you feel like youre getting overwhelmed, you talk to your colleagues. My colleagues at least are very nice, they listen, they offer advice where they can. I think its very difficult to mitigate the risks that come with it because the people who youre ideally supposed to report these issues to are sometimes the perpetrators of whatever is happening to you, so just protect your space. Whenever a serious story is being published, you do your risk assessment. If its extremely risky, you know when to leave before the story is published and things like that.
What advice do you have for any young journalist who wants to make the move into investigative journalism? Its not easy. It can get quite dangerous, but its very fulfilling. Its very fulfilling when you see things you have advocated for [leading to]action being taken by the various stakeholders. Trust your gut, be yourself and create a supportive community around you because sometimes this work can become overwhelming. So create a supportive community around you, something that you can fall back on when days are long or when assignments are tough or when you feel scared.
You can watch Tracys interview below.
--
More on the Young Journalist Award
Godwin Asediba: Finalist Young Journalist of the Year 2025
Wangu Kanuri: Finalist Young Journalist of the Year 2025
Taliban repression silences award-winning Afghan woman journalist
-- Explore our projects across the globe
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
Last November, Ed Sheeran returned to his musical roots for an intimate, one-nig...
22/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
22/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz, Qualcomm, and Motorola demonstrate successful 5G Broadcast comp...
22/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
16/01/2026
The start of a new year brings fresh possibilities. Whether you're diving in with big goals or simply setting new intentions, audiobooks can bring inspirati...
16/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
15/01/2026
The SGL Carbon site in Bonn has a long tradition of training. For many years, young talent has been successfully trained here, regularly achieving excellent exa...
15/01/2026
The JEC Composites Innovation Awards annually honor the most innovative and ambi...
15/01/2026
X-energy Reactor Company, LLC ( X-energy ) and SGL Carbon LLC ( SGL ) have signed a 10-year framework agreement to provide graphite for the deployment of X-ener...
15/01/2026
RT is tonight announcing that Mari Hurley has decided to leave her role as RT 's Chief Financial Officer to take up a new position outside RT . Mari will r...
15/01/2026
15 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Reaches 3.0 million Customers with Starlink Dir...
15/01/2026
Views to free streaming service U grew by 15%, average monthly active users by 23% and registrations by 18%
UKTV's channels achieved record viewing share, ...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
Sky Sports to show Final Stage of inaugural FIFA Women's Champions Cup
Sky and FIFA have agreed an exclusive new partnership whi...
15/01/2026
Thursday 15 January 2026
The official trailer for the second season of Seth Mac...
15/01/2026
Wuppertal January 15, 2026
Riedel RefCam Takes Center Court in German Basketba...
15/01/2026
Arvato Systems Named Launch Partner for AWS European Sovereign Cloud
As a launch partner for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Arvato Systems enables customer...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 - ITV, one of the UK's leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DA...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Press Release: The Boston Globe Names Cartesian a Top Place to Work in 2025
January 14, 2026
News
Cartesian - January 14, 2026 - EINPresswire.com - Sp...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Marcus Theatres Announce Five-Year Extension for Cinema ACE and Ent...
14/01/2026
Comscore and Santikos Entertainment Announce Five-Year Circuit Wide Commitment t...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Independent media in Brazil and Colombia is facing an urgent crisis of traditional business models alongside a deteriorating security environment, according to ...
13/01/2026
Some days you want your music to reflect a specific feeling, memory, or vibe that goes beyond a single artist or genre. You want to do more than listen. You wan...
13/01/2026
Luxembourg, December 17, 2025 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading spa...
13/01/2026
Written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot and Angela LaManna, produced b...
13/01/2026
New updates to Hitmaker Expansion from Celemony and Softube Edit pitch-perfect vocals with Melodyne Essential and get radio-ready guitar tones from Softube...
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between young journalists. The 26-year-old investigative journalist who works at Africa Uncensored in Kenya, beat 226 journalists from 60 countries to win the coveted prize.
