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Larry Madowo vows to donate entire Ksh129K award winnings to upcoming Kenyan journalist
27th May, 2026 11:13 PM
CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo has announced that he will donate the full cash prize attached to his latest award to support an upcoming journalist in Kenya.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Madowo revealed that he was honoured to receive the Human Rights Defender of the Year Award from the Defenders Coalition, a recognition he described as meaningful in his career.
The award also came with a cash prize of $1,000, equivalent to approximately Ksh129,000.
“I was honoured to accept my Human Rights Defender of the Year award today from Defenders Coalition. Ahsante sana, it comes with a $1,000 cash prize (Ksh129,000),” he wrote.
Instead of keeping the money, the international correspondent stated that he intends to pass it on to a young journalist anywhere in Kenya who is actively highlighting issues affecting their community through storytelling and reporting.
He encouraged interested individuals to either nominate themselves or recommend deserving young journalists, urging them to explain why the nominee should be considered for the support.
“I will donate the full amount to a young journalist anywhere in Kenya who highlights issues in their community. Please nominate yourself or someone in the comments and explain why,” he added.
What did Larry say about Gen Z’s ‘Niko Kadi’?
Elsewhere, the Cable News Network correspondent for Africa joined the Niko Kadi challenge, popularised by Kenyan youth, in a bid to have more Kenyans register as voters and take part in the 2027 elections.
Larry shared his details on social media on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, as he encouraged Kenyans who have not registered as voters to do so.
He also shared a video in which he could be seen confirming that he is ready to exercise his civic duty, using the viral phrase “Niko Kadi”.
The ingenious initiative was launched by Kenya’s youth on social media to marshal those who have not registered as voters to do so.
Activist Willie Oeba and Allan Ademba, who are among those who championed the Niko Kadi initiative on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, camped in Kasarani, where more than 600 people registered as voters.
The challenge started gaining traction on TikTok and has since spread over to other social media platforms, with the hashtag #NikoKadi now being pushed to urge Gen Zs to come out and register as voters.
Mixing humour with civic education, Kenyans turned to social media to rally others to turn up for the ongoing exercise and make their voices count at the ballot in 2027.
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Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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