Amnesty in Africa

What makes good policing? Where do citizens and the police differ? This episode explores policing and human rights in Africa.Further readinghttps://www.amnesty.nl/media/police-human-rights-programme

Irungu Houghton is leaving Amnesty International Kenya. After eight years as its Executive Director it is time to say goodbye. So what is his legacy? What has he learned over the course of these eight years, what are his regrets and what are his last words?Notes:https://www.amnestykenya.org/https://www.amnestykenya.org/kenya-freedom-index-launched-amid-fuel-protests-data-exposes-escalating-state-violence-against-peaceful-assembly/https://nation.africa/kenya/news/irungu-houghton-my-fears-hopes-i-leave-amnesty-seat--5479444

Part two of Amnesty In Africa podcast with Winnie Byanyima. In 2024, UNAIDS released a report that shows that the world can meet the agreed goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 – but only if leaders protect the human rights of everyone living with and at risk of HIV. Four years away from that deadline, where does the world stand? According to UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, human rights violations are still in the way of the world from ending AIDS. Listen to part one of the podcast interview with Winnie Byanyima For more on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights – read here. Amnesty International on Uganda’s Draconian laws on LGBTQ persons Report on harassment of Uganda’s  LGBTQI persons online  

Ugandan opposition politician and former presidential candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Dr. Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya on 16 November 2024 and was first arraigned at a military court in Kampala on 20 November 2024. He continues to be held in arbitrary detention at Luzira Prison in Kampala, Uganda, he is seriously ill, requiring urgent specialized medical attention, and away from detention conditions that Amnesty International considers inhumane.  In this episode, Sarah Kimani hosts Winnie Byanyima, the spouse of Dr. Besigye, to discuss the abduction, his medical condition and his work in human rights and political activism. Podcast notes;  Amnesty’s Reaction to Dr. Besigye’s abduction Amnesty and partners call for Besigye’s release Amnesty research before elections on brutal repression of opposition supporters Please support Amnesty’s call for the release of Dr. Besigye write a letter to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni  

For decades, hundreds of women in the north of Ghana have been accused of witchcraft—a label that has stripped them of their homes, families, and dignity. Branded as outcasts, many are banished to remote camps where they endure extreme poverty, inadequate shelter, and limited access to food, clean water, and healthcare. A year ago a report by Amnesty International, Branded for Life: How Witchcraft Accusations Lead to Human Rights Violations of Hundreds of Women in North Ghana, exposed the systemic failures that leave these women trapped in cycles of abuse and neglect. In this episode – we explore their stories, which reveal the deep trauma of banishment, the struggle for survival, and the resilience that keeps them going. More reading; Read their full stories in our report Branded for Life and join the call for justice. Watch our virtual exhibition,  

In the episode we speak to Ugandan lawyers and human rights activists, Eron Kiiza and Agather Atuhaire following the country’s general elections in January.The electoral process was marred by claims of rights abuses by security officials.Two days before elections, the government ordered a blanket internet shutdown.Amnesty International is running a campaign for the release of opposition politician Kizza Besigye to allow him medical care.Further reading: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/01/uganda-internet-shutdown/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/01/uganda-authorities-subjecting-opposition-supporters-to-brutal-campaign-of-repression-ahead-of-elections/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2025/08/eron-kiiza-ugandan-civilians-must-not-be-tried-in-military-courts/ https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/05/tanzania-torture-and-forcible-deportation-of-kenyan-and-ugandan-activists-must-be-urgently-investigated/ Take Action: Write to President Yoweri Museveni asking him to urge his government to immediately release Dr Besigye so that he can receive urgent medical care.

Content warning: Episode contains content related to gender-based violence (GBV), including descriptions and depictions of abuse, sexual violence, and other forms of harm, which may be sensitive or distressing for some listeners. A special edition of the Amnesty in Africa Podcast focusing on 16 days of activism against.This episode brings together gender rights activists from Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa to discuss Gender Based Violence in the countries as well as in Africa.  The episode opens up with excerpts from “Free Me” a play by Kenyan producer Gathoni Kimuyu, who tells about her abuse as well as her escape.  We then sit down with Dr. Mandipa Machacha from Amnesty International based in South Africa, Njeri Migwi from Usikimye in Kenya and Rumbidzayi Makoni from Action Aid based in Zimbabwe. 

Comment les autorités tchadiennes manquent à leur devoir de protéger le droit à la vie, à la vérité, à la justice et aux réparations de milliers de personnes dans un contexte de plus en plus graves conflits entre éleveurs et agriculteurs, et comment les sociétés civiles à travers l'Afrique et dans le monde entier peuvent soutenir notre campagne.

In this episode, our West and Central Africa Regional Office lead the conversation. Chadian authorities have failed to protect the right to life, to thousands of people amid worsening conflicts between herders and farmers. Support the campaign @amnesty.org

Tanzania goes to the polls amid a deepening human rights crisis. What are Amnesty International's human rights priorities ahead, during and after the polls? New report, out now https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr56/0376/2025/en/

Adozinda Esmeralda Maviga, talks about how young people in Mozambique are taking a stand, defending human rights, advocating for electoral integrity, and envisioning a better future for their country.

Part 1How Madagascar is failing climate changed induced displaced persons from the Androy region and why France needs moral courage to face its colonial past and the role it has played in the cyclical droughts.New report out now Part twoWe bid farewell to Deprose Muchena and Sarah Jackson. They reflect on their time at Amnesty International and what they think are Africa's key priority human rights issues.

Omhle Ntishingila started her activism while at the university.  She now spends her time defending the right to protest in her home country South Africa.

Omhle Ntishingila started her activism while at the university.  She now spends her time defending the right to protest in her home country South Africa.

2025 EU Human Rights Defender's Award winner, activist and law student Aloikin Praise Opoloje discusses activism in a time of shrinking civic space in Uganda.

This week, we introduce "Good Trouble" a series of podcasts from Deprose's office to the Amnesty in Africa podcast.

Saudi Arabia is home to nearly 4 million domestic workers, including 1.2 million women and 2.7 million men from Africa and Asia who play an essential role in enabling the country’s economic development and supporting family life. Yet, the experiences of Kenyan women outlined in Amnesty's latest report (if you can hyperlink it) illustrate how many of these workers endure gruelling, abusive and discriminatory working conditions, often amounting to forced labour and human trafficking.

The episode focuses on women’s rights 30 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China in 1995. We explore the progress made by women in Africa, with a special focus on East and Southern Africa, as well as the setbacks they face in achieving gender equality. It also explores in length Conflict Related Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia, as well as peacebuilding and the role of women at the dialogue table.ResourcesBeijing Platform for ActionEthiopia: “Today or tomorrow, they should be brought before justice”: Rape, sexual slavery, extrajudicial executions, and pillage by Eritrean Defense ForcesDRC: M23’s rampant human rights abuses demand concerted international action

Part 1Just over two years since the brutal murder of Eswatini lawyer Thulani Maseko, his killers have yet to be brought to justice. Authorities have escalated their crackdown on human rights, often using force to quash opposition, dissent and legitimate concerns of the peoplePart 2 In Uganda - the militarisation of justice continues, while in the DRC, thousands of civilians are once again on the run for safety as conflict claims lives.

This episode runs in two segments. Segment one The African Union in focus - we take a look at the AU's human rights record and the challenges ahead for the new office holders, as the continental body heads to elections in February. Segment two Protect the protest campaign - Amnesty's latest research on how police in Angola use violence to clamp down on protests.

In this episode, we discuss human rights issues that made headlines around the world with Deprose Muchena, Japhet Biegon and Agather Atuhaire. Jean Mobert Senga and Christian Rumu delve into our latest report on human rights atrocities in the DRC in Operation Keba, massacre in DRC's Goma City.

Segment one - COP29: What does Africa want? With millions of people already displaced by climate change disasters in Africa, the richer countries most responsible for global warming must agree at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan to fully pay for the catastrophic loss of homes and damage to livelihoods taking place across the continent. Our panel of experts discusses COP29 and Africa’s expectations from the climate conference. Segment two – Uganda: “Everybody here is having two lives or phones”: The devastating impact of criminalization on digital spaces for LGBTQ people in Uganda Amnesty International Gender Researcher and Advisor Shreshtha Das and Uganda campaigner Juniper Muitha discuss this new report, which has documented how the threats and presence of various forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TfGBV) against Ugandan LGBTQ people, in a context of criminalization, and the passage of Anti Homosexuality Act 2023 in particular, has forced LGBTQ individuals and organizations to alter their digital presence and behaviour.

This is a continuation of Episode 9 in this episode, Eric Kabendera and Tito Magoti continue talking with Fatma about their gut wrenching experiences inside the notorious Segerea Maximum Security Prison in Dar-es-Salaam a city in Tanzania.

This episode is hosted by a special guest Fatma Karume a Tanzanian Human Rights Lawyer and Barrister. She moderates the conversation of Tito Magoti and Eric Kabendera two Tanzanian human rights defenders who have paid a heavy price for speaking truth to power. Tito and Eric became friends when their serving their time in the notorious Segerea Maximum security prison in Dar-es-salaam.

In this Episode, Eron Kiiza a Ugandan Lawyer and environmental human rights defender speaks about the impact of the Climate crisis on Uganda if protecting the environment is not prioritized. Eron was part of the legal team that represented the young students who we listed to in the previous episode when they were arrested and intimidated by the Ugandan security forces.

This episode features voices of young university students and Human rights defenders; Elizabeth Nyanzi, Solomon Nabuyanda, Kaye Yuda Tadeo and Lubega Nsamba despite arrests and intimidation, they are determined to go all the way. They were arrested and beaten up when they took to the streets of Kampala to protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipe Line.  In  October 2022,  headlines in the Ugandan media were all about East African Crude Oil Pipe Line. The European parliament threatened to withdraw funding citing the human rights impact of the pipeline. Young people voices are much needed  especially because their futures will be greatly impacted by the climate crisis.

In this episode, we host Lillian Nalwoga the President of the Internet society's Uganda chapter to discuss the raise of digital authoritarianism in Africa, in light of the Computer Misuse amendment Act 2022 in Uganda. Uganda has been accused of weaponizing laws to stifle online dissent. In 2021, during the Ugandan general elections, there was a total internet blackout in Uganda for close to 5 days.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2013 brought the world’s attention to the entrenched legal and social discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in Uganda. Despite the legislation being repealed in 2014, there is substantial evidence of the law being enforced recently, with LGBTQI people frequently subject to arrest and arbitrary detentions. Sandra Kwikiriza a Ugandan queer woman and founder of Her Internet speaks to us about her lived experience as a queer woman living in Uganda.

In this Episode, Andrew Karamagi a Ugandan lawyer and Human rights activist  discusses issues around freedom of expression and assembly in Uganda. In 2013, the Public Mamagement order act gave sweeping powers to Ugandan authorities to clampdown on protests. Even though section 8 of the POMA has since been repealed media reports indicate that Uganda continues to stifle freedom of expression by beating torturing protestors.

A report by Journalists For Justice and Sauti Kubwa “Right the Wrongs: Spotlight on the 2020 General Election in Tanzania”, documents how armoured vehicles patrolled the streets where security forces, including the Tanzania Police Force, the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces, Zanzibar Special Forces and alleged militia and vigilante groups reportedly shot and killed several civilians. In the lead-up to the elections and days after, there was a heavy and intimidating security forces presence across Zanzibar. Security officers harassed and physically assaulted residents, who remained fearful of reporting such incidents since the perpetrators were the same individuals tasked with maintaining security and receiving reports of violations. Ismail Jussa was one of the victims of this torture, he shares with us his story.

Deprose Muchena the Senior Director for Regional Human Rights Impact at Amnesty international eloquently speaks to us about the work of Amnesty in Africa. He speaks about challenges Amnesty in Africa faces working in a region where governments accused of human rights abuses, the innovation utilizing innovation and digital technologies in their work to defend and protect human rights.

From Audrey Lorde, James Baldwin to Maya Angelou, poetry has been used to challenge oppressive power structures. When we think of protests, which for us at Amnesty mean another form of freedom of expression, we recognize that there are other forms of protests for some people, the imagination of protesting is taking over the streets displaying placards and singing slogans. In this episode, our guests three Ugandan women, Mercy Geno, Caroline Acen Afroetry, Brandy Arinaitwe serve us something special, a tasty dish of their Protest Poetry.