Manasseh Azure Awuni

In 2016 Manasseh Azure Awuni revealed that President John Mahama had accepted a Ford Expedition from a Burkinabe contractor who had won government work. The story dogged Mahama's re-election campaign, and it set the tone for a career of investigations that have sent officials to prison.

Background

Bongo, in the Upper East, is his birthplace, but he finished school far to the south at Krachi Senior High in Kete-Krachi. He studied communication at the Ghana Institute of Journalism and later took a master's at Legon.

Newsroom

He started as a freelancer and joined the Multimedia Group in 2012, becoming head of investigations at Joy FM and JoyNews. His 2019 documentary "Militia in the Heart of the Nation" exposed the De-Eye group, an unlicensed security outfit linked to the ruling NPP operating at Osu Castle; the group sued, then dropped the case. He went on to lead The Fourth Estate from its launch, a non-profit investigative newsroom set up by the Media Foundation for West Africa. The Ghana Journalists Association made him its journalist of the year in 2012, and the regional WAMECA awards gave him their top prize in both 2019 and 2020.

In October 2026 his JoyNews documentary on allegations of sexual abuse against the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School led Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu to order the headmaster's suspension and a CID investigation.

Books

He has also written several books, including a study of John Mahama's presidency and a guide to investigative journalism in Africa.