A star performer from one of Finance Uncovered’s training programmes has been shortlisted for one of Africa’s most prestigious journalism awards.

Paul Murungi, from Uganda and the Lead Business Reporter at CEO East Africa Magazine, has been nominated by a panel of judges at the Sanlam Group Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism.

He is one of only a handful of journalists from across the continent to have been shortlisted in two categories, with his entries up for prizes in the African Growth and the Business and Companies sections.

The final winners will be announced at a ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 2.

Engaging writer

Murungi, a journalist for six years, is a prolific reporter with a hugely engaging and distinctive writing style.

He attended FU’s seven-week eLearning Understanding Company Accounts course in June 2024 as part of a cohort of East African journalists.

As a direct result of that course and under FU mentorship and editing, he collaborated with a fellow participant from Uganda, Okello Jesus Ojara, to investigate the effects on a community in the north of a country where UK-listed company Blencowe Resources Ltd is hoping to mine critical mineral graphite.

That resulting story, a richly written investigative feature that examined how compensation money from Blencowe was being allegedly mishandled by community leaders, formed part of Murungi’s submission to award judges.

His other stories demonstrated his versatility and experience across several economic sectors.

They included pieces on gold mining, the cement industry, telecoms, electricity and the social governance boasts of Uganda’s construction companies.

His story on the cement sector included a thorough financial analysis of a company’s accounts, key skills taught by FU’s trainers.

The submission also showed a flair for observation and field reporting, bringing issues to life.

Describing the gold rich region of Karamoja in Uganda, he wrote: “Karamoja is rich in two assets: mineral resources such as tin, gold, copper and cobalt; and the cultural diversity of her people consisting of tribes straddling the border of Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.”

For his opening paragraph in his Blencowe story, he wrote: “In the previously war-ravaged and tightly knit community of Locomo in northern Uganda, the local clan has a saying: “The land belongs to the dead, it is under the care of the living, and it is being held in trust for future generations.”

FU course development

Finance Uncovered has subsequently engaged Murungi to help us develop new Follow the Money course material.

His latest nominations are the latest recognition of his work, having already won the Science and Technology Award at the Uganda National Journalism Awards organised by the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) in July 2024.

That same month, he won the ESG: Business and Environment category at last year’s Sanlam Group awards, and in May 2025 he scooped the Energy and Natural Resources Reporting Award at the 2025 ACME Uganda National Journalism Awards.

The other journalists nominated across the 2025 Sanlam Group awards’ are:

Susan Comrie (an FU alumni), Mudiwa Gavaza, Abdessamad Dniden, Abdulwaheed Sofiullahi, Ann Crotty, Beloved John, Blessing Enebeli, Bronwyn Seaborne and Candice Cupido, Carolyne Tomno, Ciaran Ryan, Deogratius Wamala, Destiny Onyemihia, Devi Sankaree Govender, Dewald van Rensburg, Faruk Umar Shaibu, Garth Theunissen, Giulietta Talevi, Gouba Gnintaboure Emmanuel, Julius Maricha, Katlego Legodi, Khulekani Magubane, Lisa Steyn, Mahamadi Sebogo, Maya Fisher-French, Nelson Mandela Muhoozi, Nick Wilson, Rob Rose, Ryk van Niekerk, Sakhile Dube, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, Alfonso Nqunjana and Sharlene Rood, Sinafi Omanga, Sinenjabulo Sibeko, Taiwo Adebulu, TJ Strydom, and Vernon Wessels.