Governing Council and Members:
AFLA is guided by a Governing Council made up of diverse and prestigious academics and practitioners working in international law, human rights and development cooperation.

Members of the Governing Council

Evelyn A. Ankumah (Ghana)          

Evelyn A. Ankumah is Africa Legal Aid ’s Founder and current Executive Director. She previously practiced law in Minnesota, USA and worked as a Fellow of the Department of International and European Law at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.  She has written extensively on international law and human rights. Ms. Ankumah was formerly a legal officer with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and published the first book on the Commission and its work. Originally published in English by Kluwer Law International in 1996, the book has since been translated into French and Arabic. She is currently working on a second edition of her book. She serves as board member and advisor to a number of regional and international bodies.

Prof. Shadrack Gutto (Kenya/South Africa)

Prof. Shadrack Gutto (Kenya/South Africa), Acting Chair, can best be described as an advocate and a scholar. He has lived in Africa and Europe and worked in a number of academic institutions there. Currently Professor Gutto is resident in South Africa where he is the Director of the Centre for African Renaissance Studies (CARS) at the University of South Africa (UNISA). Prior to which he was the Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Professor Gutto is an Advisor to the South African Government on various policy issues and has also advised The NEPAD Secretariat, the African Union, the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and the International Bar Association. He is a legal and political analyst for media houses including
South African Broadcasting Company Africa. He has five books to his name, mainly on human rights and constitutional law; and has published numerous articles on various issues.

Prof. Nabil Hilmy (Egypt)

Prof. Nabil Hilmy(Egypt) is a Professor of International Law and Human Rights and serves as Dean of the Faculty of Law at Zagazig University, Egypt. He is senior partner of the Hilmy Law Firm, based in Cairo, Egypt. Prof. Hilmy has authored books and articles in Arabic, English and French in International and National Law. He has served as Visiting Professor at Illinois University, USA, as Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, USA and as Visiting Scholar of the Nordic African Institute in Sweden.

Judge Unity Dow (Botswana)

Judge Unity Dow (Botswana) is the first female judge to be appointed to the bench in Botswana. She is renowned for her groundbreaking court action in Botswana, Dow v. Attorney-General, which changed the country’s discriminatory citizenship laws. She has worked tirelessly as a human rights lawyer during which she founded and served as the Director of Metlhaetsile Women’s Information Centre. She also co-founded the Women and Law in Southern Africa Research Project. Her work led to an honorary doctorate in 2001 from Kenyon College Ohio, USA. Judge Dow currently serves as a commissioner at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). More recently Judge Dow is making a mark as an accomplished novelist. One of her three novels, Screaming of the Innocent, is currently being made into a movie.

Dr. Edward Kwakwa (Ghana/Switzerland)

Dr. Edward Kwakwa (Ghana) is currently the Legal Counsel of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. He practiced law in Washington, D.C., USA and was formerly Senior Legal Adviser to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He has served as an Adjunct Associate Professor of International Law and International Organizations at Tufts University, Boston. Dr. Kwakwa previously worked as International Legal Adviser at the Commission on Global Governance in Geneva. He has also published a book on humanitarian law and numerous articles on international law.