The CIDC proudly announces that Philip Obaji, recipient of the inaugural Christo Grozev Fellowship for Courageous Journalism, has been named a 2025 Homo Homini award winner. This prestigious honor makes Obaji the first recipient from sub-Saharan Africa to receive this global human rights recognition.
The Homo Homini award, presented by Czech organization People in Need, honors Obaji’s extraordinary courage in the “detailed mapping of more than a hundred cases of gross human rights violations of defenceless citizens by paramilitary units” – specifically documenting Russian paramilitary activities throughout West and Central Africa.
Obaji shares the Homo Homini award with Ukrainian journalist Viktorija Roshchyna, who is honored posthumously. Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 while traveling through Russia to occupied Ukrainian territories and died in September 2024 while in Russian custody. Her body has not yet been returned to her family.
“Philip is one of the most relentlessly fearless journalists I have had the honor to meet and I am incredibly proud to work with him now as part of the Fellowship,” said Christo Grozev, chair of the CIDC Advisory Council whose generous support made the fellowship possible. “To see him recognized for the Homo Homini Award alongside Victoria – whom I held in such high regard for her equally fearless dedication to uncovering human rights abuses by Russia – is immensely symbolic. If also gives me hope and comfort that her dedication to uncovering injustice will be continued through Philip’s work.
“Philip’s fearless reporting exemplifies exactly why we established the Christo Grozev Fellowship,” added Dr. Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob, CIDC Executive Director. “Like Christo himself, Philip exposes abuses that powerful actors work tirelessly to conceal.
Launched in 2024, the Christo Grozev Fellowship for Courageous Journalism supports journalists who demonstrate exceptional courage and commitment to investigative work. Named for renowned AUBG alumnus Christo Grozev (’95), Chair of CIDC’s Advisory Council and a leading investigative journalist known for exposing the Russian operatives behind the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and various other high profile cases, the fellowship provides financial support and mentorship for journalists working at democracy’s front lines.
Former Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová will present the award to Obaji at a ceremony in Prague on March 12, 2025, during the opening of the One World Human Rights Film Festival. The ceremony will be broadcast live on People in Need’s social media channels.
About the Christo Grozev Fellowship: Established in 2024 by the Center for Information, Democracy and Citizenship at the American University in Bulgaria, the Grozev Fellowship honors the legacy and ongoing work of Christo Grozev, an AUBG alumnus and renowned investigative journalist who chairs CIDC’s Advisory Council.
