As the world was celebrating World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday, popular cartoonist Godfrey Mwapembwa commonly known as Gado was awarded the 2016 International Editorial Cartoons Prize in Geneva, Switzerland.
Gado received the prestigious award alongside Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, which was presented to them by former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
“Gado and Zunar remind us how fragile this liberty remains in Africa and in Asia as well as in other regions of the world. Through their commitment towards open and transparent societies, Gado and Zunar, who have received threats in their countries of origin and can no longer practice their profession, confront us with our responsibility to preserve freedom of expression and act in order to support the combat of those who cannot express themselves through their art,” Annan stated.
The prize was granted to the caricaturists by the Cartooning for Peace Swiss Foundation and the City of Geneva.
In Kenya, Media Council of Kenya (MCK) named Erick Ngammau of The Standard Newspaper as Cartoonist of the year.
Gado is a bold cartoonist who worked at the Nation Media Group for 23 years before being kicked out of the company after reportedly drawing cartoons that displeased prominent individuals.
It is said that Mr Mwapembwa got fired after doing a cartoon that annoyed former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, leading to temporal ban of the East African newspaper in the neighbouring country.
In the caricature, Gado sketched Kikwete half naked, eating grapes from the hand of one of seven well-endowed ladies. Each of these women represented seven weaknesses in Kikwete’s government.
Some of Gado's drawings are said to have also made the Jubilee top leaders uncomfortable, something that has been reported as another reason behind his sacking.
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