BBC News, Accra

Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has launched “Wajsic” – the Whistleblowers and Journalists’ Safety International Centre.

It’s a self-funded organisation designed to provide protection, safe houses, legal services and advocacy for journalists and whistleblowers in Africa.

Anas himself is not new to the danger and death threats that come with the work of investigative journalism.

One of his closest collaborators Ahmed Hussein-Suale – who had worked with Anas on a BBC investigation – was shot dead near his family home in Accra in 2019.

His murder remains unsolved.

The newly launched centre is already hosting seven whistle-blowers and journalists from the continent – one for the past year.

The safety of journalists and whistle-blowers across Africa has come under scrutiny amid concerns from international human rights organisations concerned about the narrowing space for democratic expression and freedom across Africa.