Latest News

Recently, I watched a video message by Namibian First Lady Monica Geingos on the theme of the 2021 International Women’s Day: #ChoosetoChallenge. In her message, she spoke of the misogyny and online abuse faced by her simply because she is a powerful woman living and speaking her truth. She also spoke of her decision to push back against her abusers because, “Your silence won’t protect you”.

International Women’s Day has come and gone but Monica's message has left a lasting impression on me. It reminded me of all the little ways that women shrink and are silenced by society. I remember watching Hillary Clinton face former US President Donald Trump in a 2016 presidential debate.

On 6 February 2021, 2016 Tutu Fellow Succès Masra PhD, sought shelter within the US Embassy security perimeter in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena. The President of the National Human Rights Commission negotiated his exit and the US Embassy received assurances from the government of Chad that Succès would not be arrested if he left the embassy grounds and would be allowed to return home unhindered.  Succès refused this negotiated settlement for only himself and instead demanded the release of his fellow companions who were arrested and charged during protests. The United States issued a statement emphasizing their commitment to defending democratic values, but asked Succès to leave, none the less.

The US has also called on the government of Chad to respect the rule of law, to respect the right of the people to demonstrate, and to ensure a transparent and fair judicial process for those persons detained following protests demanding social justice and political change.

Several Tutu Fellows form part of The Amahoro Coalition's Leadership Council, which champions the need for home-grown solutions to the horn of Africa region’s refugee crisis. The organisation, which was founded by 2014 Tutu Fellow Isaac Kwaku Fokuo, provides a structure and resources to help unlock the potential of the African private sector to generate transformative opportunities for displaced communities. It is in response to a massive need - millions of refugees have fled violent wars, civil strife, and persecution.  Some have been displaced for decades, lacking access to quality education and dignified livelihoods. This impacts the generation originally displaced as well as their children. 

The Fellows who are providing leadership to the Amahoro Coalition are 2014 Fellow Isaac Kwaku Fokuo; 2012 Fellow Julie Gichuru; and 2013 Fellow Nuradin Osman. The Leadership Council at the organisation comprises 11 people. 

2006 Fellow Judy Malan at AFLI 10th Anniverary celebration at Nirox Park. Also in picture, 2015 Fellow Martin Mbaya.

The African Leadership Institute is delighted to announce the appointment of Judy Malan as Programme Director for the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship Programme with effect from 1st March 2021.

Judy is well known to the Tutu Fellows community, having been a Fellow of the inaugural Tutu Programme in 2006 along with our past Chairman, Ronnie Ntuli and past Board Member, Aidan Eyakuze. It is truly heart-warming that members of that very first cadre of Tutu Fellows are still engaged and committed to continue our mission to build a network of high-potential values-based leaders across the continent who are committed to making Africa a better place for all to live in.

The organisation led by 2019 Tutu Fellow Samson Itodo has published a book about the impact of young legislators who are, in the words on the cover, "changing the face of politics in Nigeria". Beating the Odds is a compilation of powerful stories of young people - especially the beneficiaries of the Not Too Young To Run law - who ran for public office and won seats in the National and State legislature in the 2019 general election in Nigeria.

Samson 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 was also the convener of the #NotTooYoungToRun movement that led the successful advocacy for the reduction of age limits for running for public office in the Nigerian constitution.

Young people across the African continent have read the Greater Inclusion of African Youth in Governance and Public Service report and are calling for its implementation on social media. Project Pakati’s Change Makers posted their call to action throughout the month of March 2021, and it can be seen on their Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Following the launch of the Greater Inclusion of African Youth in Governance and Public Service report, the AU Youth Envoy, Aya Chebbi - within the confines of social distancing and the limitations on travel due to the pandemic - was able to meet the Namibian President, Hage Geingob, in October 2020. She was also able to secure a speaking enagagement at the opening of the South Sudan National Dialogue, where the tenets and recommendations of the report were put forward.

2007 Tutu Fellow Takalani Musekwa has been appointed as Group Head of Reward at Discovery. Discovery Limited is a South Africa-based financial services group that is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Musekwa is a Master Reward Specialist registered with The South African Reward Association (SARA) and a Chartered HR Practitioner registered with the South African Board for People Practice (SABPP). He previously served as the Head of Remuneration and Benefits at the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and as its Chief HR Officer (acting) between 2010 and 2021.

The African Climate Foundation (ACF) has elected 2018 Tutu Fellow Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg PhD to their Advisory Council. She is the Director of African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), which works towards inclusive, agriculture-driven prosperity for the African continent, by strengthening the production and dissemination of more gender-responsive agricultural research and innovation.

The ACF is the first African-led, strategic, climate-change, grant-making foundation on the continent.

2006 Tutu Fellow Kunyalala Maphisa has been appointed as an Independent Non-executive Director to the Board of PPC Cement and a Member of its Investment Committee and the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee. The appointments were made as of the beginning of February 2021.

Kunyalala is co-founder and Principal Partner for Brighton Wealth Subsaharan, a South African based investment and advisory firm with a diversified investment portfolio. She is also the President of BWASA, the Business Women's Association of South Africa, the largest association of professionals and businesswomen in South Africa.

Dr Angela Gichaga - a 2019 Tutu Fellow - joined the PSI Board in January 2021. Population Services International (PSI) is a non-profit global health organization with programs targeting malaria, child survival, HIV, and reproductive health. It is based in Washington, DC; Nairobi; and Amsterdam and has been in existence for more than half a decade.

PSI says that while it is a nonprofit, it uses measurable business practices to build strong health systems in the private and public sector to save lives. It has more than 8,000 local experts in more than 50 countries with which it works. 

2014 Tutu Fellow Mokena Makeka was appointed Principal at Dalberg, and Director of the South Africa Office commencing January 2021. In his role, he will have a particular focus on the following areas: cities and urban development; the built environment and natural infrastructure; digital communities, innovation and entrepreneurship; transport and renewables; green livelihoods; forest economy; beyond smart cities and spatial and social transformation through design.

Dalberg Global Development Advisors is a strategy and policy advisory firm. Founded in 2001, it specialises in global development.

African Business Magazine has published a thought piece by AFLI CEO Jackie Chimhanzi in which she argues why Africa needs greater representation by young leaders at the decision-making table. The magazine published it as part of a special report to the 2020 World Economic Forum summit in Davos.

In the piece, which was co-written by the Pakati Project Manager Monique Atouguia, they point out that it is important for young people to occupy key leadership positions, but not just any young people. It is the young people who have the energy, focus, intensity, risk appetite, passion and single-minded drive to deliver well-articulated burning visions. Young leaders need to be at the centre of power, where decisions are being made.

2008 Tutu Fellow Elsie Kanza has been selected for a Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship, a program of the Robert Bosch Academy. With this Fellowship, the Robert Bosch Academy offers outstanding personalities from over the world a residency of several months in Berlin.

The residency provides Fellows with the intellectual and physical space to pursue individual research and outreach activities on future-oriented topics in an international context. The Fellowship enables them to engage and study beyond their normal professional commitments. The highly-individualized stays offer these Fellows the intellectual freedom to deal with a variety of topics and issues beyond their regular duties and obligations. 

2008 Tutu Fellow Nitesh Dullabh has been appointed to serve as a director on the governing board of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP). The ISSP is the world's leading professional association of sustainability practitioners.

Nitesh is a global environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainabilty development goal (SDG) expert, and has over 20 years experience in facilitating Fortune 200 companies with their global expansion projects in developed and emerging markets.

2010 Tutu Fellow Lerato Mataboge delivered a TEDx Lyttleton Women Talk on the necessity and urgency for African countries to trade among themselves as a way to address economic challenges and recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Titled, Why Intra-Africa Trade Matters, she says that African countries not only need to trade among themselves as a way to address economic challenges and undo colonial patterns of consumption and distribution, they need to begin doing so with a sense of urgency.  This type of trade can play a key role in helping the continent recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She begins her talk about vanilla, the bulk of which in the global market is grown in Madagascar.  Madagascar exports it and when it comes back to the continent, it costs so much more. Africa trading away its resources must change, she says, and the continent must begin adding value before exports occur so as to retain the value at home.