Regional Chief of 24 Districts

                                              David Mafabi

Ali Balunywa in Mbale, Uganda 

Having studied and attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication, David Mafabi was recruited to the Monitor in 2002 as a correspondent. The Monitor is one of Uganda’s leading daily newspapers. It was in founded by a group of journalists 1992. Currently, it is owned by East Africa’s biggest media house, The Nation Group of Companies that publishes the biggest circulating newspaper in East Africa. It also owns radios and televisions in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

David is now the Bureau Chief of Mbale, which oversees 24 districts zoned into Bugishu, Sebei, Tororo, Teso, Karamoja and Bugwere. All these areas are in Eastern Uganda.

David is at the office by 7.30 am. The first thing he does is to chair the daily meeting with reporters and correspondents. The objective of the meeting is to share tips, exchange ideas and assign duties. During the meetings, a docket comprising of issues to be written about is developed. At 9.00 am it is sent to the news editor in Kampala.

The correspondents are then sent out to chase after what is in the docket. All stories are expected to be in by 12.00 noon, which is the deadline for regional pages unless there is an issue of national importance or breaking news that can be sent later.

David writes at least 2 stories daily, 2 features and one opinion per week. Sometimes he also attends conferences, workshops and other PR related events, which provide tips for stories. Human-interest stories like undressing and whipping a woman who is found committing adultery in Karamoja region yet a man is allowed to have as many wives as he wishes always attract national prominence. 

David, an award winner in investigative journalism does not blog nor have any interest in social networking sites. However, he uses the computer to type in stories, edit them and email them to the editors in Kampala. He also uses his Gmail for chatting and interviewing news sources. Almost all the time, he uses search engines to beef up his stories.

There is a digital camera at the office, which makes taking and uploading photos easy. David’s mobile phone is another ICT that he uses all the time for communication, briefing and debriefing, interviewing sources, clarification and getting tips. Sometimes sources beep him and he calls back to receive tips and stories.