RADIO PACIS MAKES HISTORY AT 2025 JOURNALISM AWARDS

Samuel Fredrick Mwogeza the Executive Director Stanbic Bank Uganda hands over the Special Commemorative Plague to Simon Onziga (Evening News Editor) at Radio Pacis during the 2025 Uganda National Journalism Awards Ceremony.
 
By Dramadri Federick
Arua City
 
Radio Pacis has earned a remarkable history in the Uganda National Journalism Awards as a radio after emerging the best media house in adhering to professionalism and ethical standards termed to be the Stambic Shield of Journalism Award.

Since the introduction of this special Award category for Media Houses in 2023 by Stambic Bank Uganda, the winner of the first Stambic Shield of Journalism Award was Vision Group, while in 2024 InfoNile received the award for its Digital Innovation, and this year Radio Pacis won it for upholding ethical standards making the first of its kind in history for a radio to win in the category.

Samuel Fredrick Mwogeza the Executive Director Stanbic Bank while handing over the certificate and the a cash price of 10 million shillings to Simon Onziga the evening news editor of Radio Pacis in a colorful event at Mestil Hotel in Kampala, stretch the need to press for more accountability from the duty bearers by the journalists. “Lead the way in keeping us honest with Integrity and skills but what is important is the human touch in the stories,” Mwogeza explained.

The Stanbic Shield of Journalism Award is dedicated to recognizing and honoring legacy and digital media institutions and platforms that exemplify the highest standards of journalism, embodying principles of fairness, balance, humanity, and accuracy in their reporting.

This award celebrates media organizations and platforms that consistently uphold ethical standards and demonstrate a commitment to providing accurate, unbiased, constructive and comprehensive coverage of news and current affairs while recognizing editorial independence, adherence to professional codes of conduct, and a demonstrated commitment to inclusivity by fostering a diverse and inclusive newsroom or editorial staff that reflects the wider community it serves.

The Executive Director announced further commitments to sponsoring the Uganda National Journalism Awards (UNJA) in partnership with the African Center for Media Excellency (ACME) so as to ensure highly rated professionalism in the Ugandan Media Houses.

Sherry Meyer, a founding member of Radio Pacis attributes this achievement to the joint aspirations of Excellency and team work the media house has continued to exhibit without compromising ethical standards.

“We started by winning the BBC Award for the best New Radio Station in the whole of Africa and now more than 20 years later we are still an award winning Radio. Now this institutional Award for Radio Pacis brings us great joy because it touches every aspect of this radio and the whole team shares the joy,” Sherry revealed.

According to the Judges, the 2025 Uganda National Journalism Awards saw participation from 147 journalists, with women representing 33% and men making up 67% of the entrants.

Whereas in the regional representation there was  a significant concentration from Kampala with 56% of participants making entries, 13% from Northern Uganda, 7% from West Nile, and 6% from Central Uganda.

The African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) a nongovernmental organization every year organizes the Uganda National Journalism Awards (UNJA) to recognize and celebrate outstanding journalistic contributions of Journalists and media organizations and platforms across the nation within the Ugandan media landscape.