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It is with profound sadness that the African Leadership Institute announces the passing of Lorna Irungu-Macharia on 22 March, 2021 due to COVID-19 related complications. Lorna was both an Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow of 2010 and a member of the African Leadership Institute’s board.

Lorna is remembered by the Fellows for her “amazing sense of humour, huge heart and brilliant mind”. “We are poorer today but richer to have known her and been on this life journey with her.” She is also remembered for her incredible courage and bravery. Diagnosed with lupus, she would go on to have three kidney transplants in her life.

A 2009 Tutu Fellow’s Community project, Tswelopele Sisterhood and Girls Club in Alexandra, which was co-founded by Geci Karuri-Sebina PhD, recently got a boost from another Tutu Fellow.  2018 Fellow Edzai Zvobwo and his nonprofit, The Education Support Forum, have partnered with Tswelopele to facilitate the girls' skills development by donating 30 tablets to help expand virtual learning. The tablets will also help supplement tutoring and access to e-resources during this period as schools are disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to be awarded the Tutu Fellowship, participants are required to complete three assignments, one of which is a community project in keeping with the servant leadership tenet that underpins the programme.

2014 Tutu Fellow Linda Kasonde's non-profit, Chapter One Foundation, has partnered with Diamond TV to broadcast a series of election debates ahead of the national elections that will take place in August this year in Zambia.  The series began in January and ended in March 2021. 

It featured leading officials from the most prominent political parties in Zambia to discuss various issues. The TV series form part of Chapter One's civic education and human rights mission and set out to provide a space in which political candidates could share their public policy proposals and political opinions with potential voters. Additionally, the debate series provided a platform for potential voters to engage with candidates, comparing and contrasting their policies, and allowing for informative discourse that will hopefully result in voters making informed decisions during the August 2021 national elections.

2013 Tutu Fellow Hynd Bouhia PhD has published a book, African Girl, Africa Woman: How agile, empowered and tech-savvy females will transform the continent... for good. The book follows her travels across the African continent and explores the pivotal role played by African women in realizing the continent’s digital and technological revolution.

From Casablanca to Cape Town to Cairo, and from the ancient pyramids to venture capital-financed entrepreneurs and start-ups, this work explores 'how to prepare the African girl to fill, own, and lead this vital role into the 21st century'. 

Evercare Hospital Lekki, a private multispecialty tertiary care facility, was officially unveiled by the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, and the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on March 11 2021. The building is a concrete example of efforts by 2018 Tutu Fellow Temi Marcella Awogboro to bring it into being and she currently serves as an Executive Director with Evercare Hospital Lekki. The hospital is wholly owned by the Evercare Health Fund, a $ 1 billion emerging markets healthcare fund managed by The Rise Fund, the impact investment platform of global alternative asset manager TPG Capital. Temi played a key role in bringing this deal together and she was the West Africa deal lead of the fund.

Serah Makka-Ugbabe, a 2018 Tutu Fellow, has been promoted to ONE’s Executive Director for Engagement and Mobilisation. In this role, she will lead ONE’s work on global campaigning and digital strategy, as well as the coordination, growth, and engagement of ONE’s diverse and global supporter base. She was promoted to this post in March 2021.

ONE is a global nonprofit campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030, so that everyone, everywhere can lead a life of dignity and opportunity. ONE lobbys political leaders in world capitals and runs grassroots campaigns to pressure governments to do more to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, and empowers citizens to hold their governments to account.

2009 Tutu Fellow James Mwangi has been selected for the prestigious Maurice R Greenberg World Fellows Program at Yale University. The program enables “extraordinary individuals, from across the globe and from diverse disciplines, to increase their capacity to make the world a better place.” Aside from James, the Class of 2021 includes a Brazilian diplomat, an Israeli journalist, and a British expert in the ethics of artificial intelligence among the 16 women and men selected as 2021 World Fellows.

The cohort brings the total number of World Fellows since the program’s start in 2002 to 375 Fellows, representing 91 countries.  The program selects a diverse cohort of World Fellows to spend four months together in residence at Yale University “to grow intellectually, share knowledge, strengthen skills and expand networks.”

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.