Villa Aurora Grant Recipients | 2016
Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Diane Nininahazwe | Feuchtwanger Fellow
Diane Nininahazwe is a Burundian journalist holding a Bachelor's degree in Development Communication from Light University based in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Since 2005, Nininahazwe has been working as a senior health and environmental reporter on behalf of Radio Bonesha FM, a local broadcasting station. From 2012 to 2015, she also worked as a media consultant with La Benevolencija (a Dutch NGO) and the Population Services International (PSI), where she was running special radio programs focusing on good governance, transitional justice issues, and health topics.
In 2015, after President Nkurunziza decided to run for re-election, a move widely criticized for violating a regional peace accord limiting a president to two terms, a political crisis unfolded.
After, several private radio stations had been forced to shut down, Nininahazwe joined the Voice of America as part of a team to provide timely reporting from the ground. Her work was, however, cut short after an assassination attempt, which she narrowly escaped. She found refuge in neighboring Ruanda.
Diane Nininahazwe won several national and international awards for her work.