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2007 Tutu Fellow Brilliant Mhlanga has written an intimate and moving tribute for the late former Ghanaian President and military officer, Jerry John Rawlings. JJ Rawlings - as he was commonly known - led the country from 1981 to 2001, a period that included a military junta until 1992. He went on to serve two terms as the democratically-elected president of Ghana, stepping down at the end of the constitutionally-limited time frame.

Brilliant describes Jerry Rawlings as a “true Pan African” and a “Giant of Africa”, giving us an intimate look into this man's personality, political views, and dreams for the African continent.

2014 Tutu Fellow Linda Kasonde has been at the forefront of a legal battle since 2019 to prevent a change to the constitution by the Zambian government. Zambia’s Constitution Amendment Bill (No. 10 of 2019) aimed at weakening the legislature, judiciary, and state institutions that provide necessary checks and balances. “Bill 10”, as it was known, also threatened to change the electoral system to make it easier for the incumbent to win the 2021 presidential election and to hold on to power through gerrymandering. In a victory for the people, the bill has been defeated in the legislature.

Chapter One Foundation - which she founded - and the Law Association of Zambia, sued the state on the basis that the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill was unconstitutional when it was first proposed.

The following is the full text of an open letter from Nigerian Tutu Fellows to President Muhammadu Buhari on the violent treatment by Nigerian security forces of #EndSARS protestors.

Open Letter to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

October 21, 2020

President Buhari,

You appealed to Nigerians to give you a mandate in 2003, 2007 and 2011.

2006 Tutu Fellow Aidan Eyakuze has been elected as Civil Society Co-Chair of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Aidan is the Executive Director of the policy and civil society nonprofit, Twaweza, in Tanzania.  Twaweza works to demonstrate how citizens can come together to collectively address their problems and make government work better for them.

His term as Lead Co-Chair alongside the government of Italy will begin next year.  Until then, and in collaboration with the government of Italy, he will support the new Lead Co-Chair, Maria Baron, the Executive Director of Directorio Legislativo, and the government of South Korea, to advance the work of the Open Government partnership.

The African Leadership Institute in South Africa (AFLI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Trevor Manuel as Chairman, following the end of Ronnie Ntuli’s tenure after three years of service during which time he very successfully restructured the Institute’s governance and prepared for a seamless transition as the Founders stepped back.

The African Leadership Institute was founded in 2003 by Sean Lance and Peter Wilson and is committed to nurturing the leadership capabilities of Africa's highest potential young leaders in the age range 25-39.  It is the vision of the Founders that this values-based network of visionary, strategic, self-aware and ethical African leaders become the catalysts for change and the transformation of Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the Patron of the Institute and the flagship offering is the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Programme which is delivered in partnership with Oxford University.

2008 Tutu Fellow Bibi Bakare Yusuf has won the Distinguished Africanist Award from ASAUK. The ASAUK - or African Studies Association of the United Kingdom - is a scholarly organization with a membership that includes academics, journalists and broadcasters, civil servants and many others with an interest in Africa. 

Bibi is the award-winning Co-Founder and Publishing Director of Cassava Republic. Bibi explains: “I am a publisher because I am interested in the future. I am interested in contributing to and helping to shape what people in 100, 200 or even 500 years will be discussing and mulling over when they take a walk into the labyrinth of their past that is our present moment. I am interested in how we can create the archive of the future in the present.”

2019 Tutu Fellow Marcia Ashong, the founder and Executive Director of TheBoardroom Africa, has partnered with the Ghana Stock Exchange on a new report assessing progress on gender diversity across the region.  The report is titled Board Diversity Index, Ghana 2020 Edition. The index tracks the number of listed boards by country and identifies all board seats filled by women.  It also monitors the number of women in chair and other executive positions. 

Research to date covers publicly listed boards across 11 African countries, and now includes Ghana.

2019 Tutu Fellow Samson Itodo has been appointed by the Nigerian government as a member of the national steering committee for the new Nigerian development plan, Agenda 2050. Itodo is the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, a community of change-makers focused on building sustainable democracies in Africa anchored on the principles of inclusion, justice, accountability and constitutionalism.

He convened the Not Too Young To Run movement that led the successful advocacy for the reduction of age limits for running for public office in the Nigerian constitution. The campaign was adopted by the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS as a global campaign.

2007 Tutu Fellow Hassan Musa Usman has been appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Access Bank Plc, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Access Bank is a Nigerian multinational commercial bank, owned by Access Bank Group. Hassan brings his experience as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Aso Savings and Loans Plc to his board position, as well as other previous experience in this space.

2008 Tutu Fellow, Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono, an award-winning journalist, was seized in a raid on 20 July, 2020 at his home in Harare, Zimbabwe. On Facebook Live, he managed to capture the moment the security agents entered his house to arrest him. The clip went viral and captured the imagination of the world, making headlines on various leading channels such as CNN, BBC, Al-Jazeera, SABC and newspapers like the Financial Times, New York Times, Washington Post and the UK’s Guardian.

The government seized Hopewell without a warrant and jailed him on a charge of inciting violence after he tweeted about a protest being organised by political activist Jacob Ngarivhume. During court proceedings, Hopewell’s lawyer Doug Coltart said that under cross examination, even the investigating officer admitted there was nothing in Hopewell’s tweets that formed the basis of the charge to incite violence.

The global mobility technology multinational, Bombardier Transportation, has announced the appointment of 2019 Tutu Fellow Makgola Makololo as Managing Director for South Africa. In this role, she is responsible for Bombardier Transportation’s strategy, development and deployment in the country, with sustainable customer and partner relationships as priorities.

Makgola is an engineer with extensive management experience in large-scale organisations and has been listed as a leader in science and technology by a variety of publications. Globally, Bombardier has nearly 60,000 employees and manufactures planes and trains.

2010 Tutu Fellow Robtel Neajai Pailey PhD has been appointed as an Assistant Professor in International Social and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she contributes to a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Robtel is an academic, published author, essayist, scholar-activist and children's book author.  

2019 Tutu Fellow Akintunde Oyebode has been appointed as the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development for Etiki State in Nigeria. He was sworn in by the State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, following a cabinet reshuffle. Akin has played several senior roles in Ekiti state government, with this now being his most senior role.

Akin was previously the Special Adviser on Investment, Trade and Innovation at Ekiti State government, where he was responsible for leading the state government’s efforts to make Ekiti an attractive destination for investors and innovation-driven enterprises. An additional element to that portfolio had been creating jobs for young people.

2009 Tutu Fellow James Mwangi has penned a thought piece on insights and lessons that can be gained from the COVID-19 pandemic. James is the Executive Director of the Dalberg Group, and a Partner with Dalberg Advisors. James cautions that while “COVID-19 is the defining socio-economic and geo-political event of our lives to date – it may not be the last major disruption.” In his piece, he emphasises the importance of both action and reflection.

He points to the social fault lines the pandemic has exposed and warns that the existential issues of climate change and profound inequality—and their explosive nexus—remain ahead of us. It holds the promise, he says, that if ignored, of disruptions that will dwarf the current catastrophe.

The governance committee of African Risk Capacity Limited has appointed 2014 Tutu Fellow Ladé Araba to join its Board of Directors. Ladé is the Managing Director for Africa at Convergence Finance. She is also the Co-Founder and President of the Visiola Foundation, which empowers African girls and young women through education, training, and mentoring in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.  Also appointed to the board was Sarata Kone-Thiam.

African Risk Capacity (ARC) is a specialized agency of the African Union that was established to help African governments improve their capacities to better plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters.