Programs Governance in Africa - Challenges and Opportunities in 2025

Governance in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities in 2025

Virtual Program – 1h 30m

Join us on Wednesday, Jan. 29th at 1pm ET for a virtual panel discussion that explores the governing landscape across Africa in 2025.

Building on the release of our State of Democracy in Africa report at the end of last year, this moderated conversation will expand on the report's projections to consider how the continent’s current experience fits within broader governance trends globally. What is the current significance of political systems to individual wellbeing in African countries? How do we assess the viability of young African democracies in the context of an international arena where those that have historically enforced and upheld its fundamental principles appear less committed to doing so? And how, if at all, have popular attitudes around democratic freedoms changed after a year of quite a few forceful and undemocratic political upheavals?

The panel will feature Andrea Ngombet; Mireille Rebeiz, PhD; Tigere Chagutah, PhD; Nneka Okechukwu, PhD; and Lonwabo Patrick Kulati.

Panelists:

Andrea Ngombet 

Andrea Ngombet is a civil society leader and founder of the Sassoufit Collective, which advocates for democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of the Congo. He is a member of the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal and has been recognized as both a Reagan Fascell-Fellow and a Stanford Draper Hill Fellow. Ngombet holds a Bachelor's degree in History from Sorbonne Paris IV University. His recent work includes authoring an essay titled "How China Fuels African Kleptocratic Networks: The Case of Congo-Brazzaville" and a self-published book titled ”Toxic Ideology: How China is Shaping the Modern Republic of the Congo,” which both highlights the ways China facilitates Congo-Brazzaville's deeply kleptocratic regime.

Lonwabo Patrick Kulati

Lonwabo Patrick Kulati is the Chief Executive Officer of Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) the Southern Africa Region. He has a strong history of leading international NGOs and driving organisational growth, effectiveness and profitability. He also has expertise in strategy development and execution, leadership coaching, fund development, stakeholder management, advocacy, and partnership cultivation. Patrick is also a published author of "A Gap in the Cloud," providing valuable insights and inspiration on personal and leadership resilience. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Stellenbosch. He regularly writes and provides commentary on good governance issues affecting ordinary citizens in Africa.

Mireille Rebeiz, PhD

Dr. Mireille Rebeiz is Chair of Middle East Studies and Associate Professor of Francophone Studies, Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Dickinson College. She received her first Doctorate (PhD) in Francophone Studies from Florida State University and her second doctorate (SJD) in International Law from Penn State Dickinson Law. She also holds a Master’s degree in International Law and Human Rights from Université de Rouen in France, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon. Her teaching and research are interdisciplinary and focus on the intersectionality of law, gender, sexuality, oral history, and trauma in the context of armed conflicts with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. Dr. Rebeiz is a well-established scholar, educator, and activist. Her first book, Gendering Civil War. Francophone Women’s Writing in Lebanon, for which she earned the AAUW American Fellowship, appeared with Edinburgh University Press in 2022 and was nominated for the John Leonard Prize. Her second book Hezbollah in International Law is forthcoming with Edinburgh University Press in March 2025.

Nneka Okechukwu, PhD

Nneka Okechukwu is an independent consultant working on the themes of the rule of law and peacebuilding. Previously, she worked as a senior policy officer and later Head of the inclusive governance and accountability team at the European Centre for Development Policy Management. Nneka has also worked with the Africa projects of the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law and as a senior research fellow and country manager of the South Sudan projects and also  at Saferworld UK and OHCHR. Nneka is a qualified lawyer and holds a master’s in public international law degree from Queen Mary, University of London and a PhD from the University of Hull.

Tigere Chagutah, PhD

Dr. Tigere Chagutah is the Regional Director for Amnesty International’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office. Dr Chagutah has over 20 years experience in the international development and human rights sectors, leading programs, advocacy and campaigns across several themes at recognised international non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam International, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, and Mercy Corps. 

The panel will be moderated by Tunde Olatunji from The Africa Center.