Uganda Press Photo Award
We're proud to introduce the outstanding individuals serving as judges for the 2025 East African Photography Award. This panel includes leading photojournalists, editors, and acclaimed industry experts, each bringing a unique perspective and a wealth of experience.
United by a shared passion for visual narratives, they offer sharp editorial insight and a deep commitment to recognizing powerful, authentic narratives from around the world. Their diverse expertise ensures a thoughtful and rigorous evaluation of every entry, honoring excellence in visual storytelling at the highest level.
Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi is photojournalist with over 20 years of experience documenting the human condition across Africa, Europe, and Asia. He recently completed the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT during a sabbatical from the Associated Press.
His career has been defined by a deep commitment to multi-format storytelling—combining photography, narrative, and digital platforms to bring underreported stories to light.
A dedicated mentor, he has trained emerging photojournalists globally. His educational contributions include collaborations with the Norwegian Fredskorpset, World Press Photo, Pathshala Institute, and SAMSO, where he has led pioneering efforts on gender and imagery across Southern and East Africa.Instagram
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Sana Ullah (she/her) is a Senior Program Officer at the National Geographic Society (NGS) in Washington, D.C. where she works closely with the Storytelling Grants Program and helps manage projects by NGS Explorers.
Sana is a trained multimedia storyteller with over a decade experience in creating and producing visual content. Prior to NGS, she has worked for Discovery, the Public Broadcasting Service, the Smithsonian, and more. She is mostly known for her ongoing project, Places You'll Pray : a community engagement photo series of Muslims praying in locations outside of a mosque or designated prayer area(s).
Luis Tato is AFP's (Agence France-Presse) Chief Photographer for East Africa and the Indian Ocean, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He started his career as a photographer working for the Spanish leading newspaper La Vanguardia covering daily news and sports. Afterwards, he moved to Nairobi in 2017 to work as a stringer photographer covering East Africa for AFP.
In 2023, he was appointed Chief Photographer for East Africa and the Indian Ocean taking a leading role in the photography coverage of the region for the news agency. His work has been published broadly and has been awarded with several major awards such as World Press Photo, Sony World Photography Awards and several POY (Pictures of the Year International).