Photographers from Uganda, Kenya, Sudan, Burundi and Ethiopia have been recognised at the 2026 Foundation for East African Photography (FOTEA) awards for documenting issues ranging from displacement and identity to environmental conservation and everyday life.
The awards feature 16 shortlisted photographers across three competitions: the 15th Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA), the 9th East African Photography Award (EAPA) and the 11th Young Photographer Award (YPA).
Among the winners, Wadah Omer emerged victorious in the EAPA Stories category with his project Weaving the Earth, which documents the lives of Sudanese refugees in Uganda following the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023.
Alex Nyende won the overall Uganda Press Photo Award for Where Do They Go?, a project examining evictions in Kampala’s Kawaala neighbourhood as authorities moved to restore part of the Lubigi wetland.
Mohamed Abuagla won the EAPA Single Images (Human) category for The Place That No One Belongs, while Anthony Ochieng Onyango took the EAPA Single Images (Planet) award.
Irene Jemillah Ahebwa was named the winner of the Young Photographer Award, a programme designed to nurture emerging talent through mentorship and professional development.
Stella Nantongo, FOTEA director, said the winning photographers were helping shape how stories from East Africa are documented and understood.
“East African photographers continue to take charge of their own visual narratives,” Nantongo said. “This year’s photographers live the stories they tell, and it shows in the trust and intimacy of their work.”
The awards are supported by Fujifilm, which provides equipment to selected winners, alongside other partners, including Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Uganda and the European Union Delegation to Uganda.
The 2026 photography exhibition is currently on display at MoTIV Uganda in Kampala, with a free public programme running until November 5, 2026.
