Afrobarometer public-attitude surveys have been tracking citizen engagement on the continent for 25 years. This year’s African Insights report, the second in an annual series on high-priority topics, draws on data spanning the past decade, including the latest round of nationally representative surveys in 39 countries, representing the views of more than three-fourths of the continent’s population.
The analysis focuses on key indicators of citizen engagement: Voting, political party affiliation, political discussion, attending community meetings, joining with others to raise an issue, contacting leaders, and protesting.
The hybrid launch event will feature:
- A keynote address by Prof. E. Gyimah-Boadi, Afrobarometer Co-founder and Emeritus Board Chair
- A presentation of the report’s key findings by Rorisang Lekalake, Afrobarometer Senior Analyst and Methodologist
- A panel discussion with researchers, policy actors, and civil society leaders, moderated by Bernard Avle, General Manager of Ghana’s Citi FM and Citi TV
Confirmed panelists include:
– Haja Ramatulai Wurie (Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Sierra Leone)
– Sy Mamabolo (Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission of South Africa)
– Audrey Gadzekpo (Emeritus Professor of Communications and Board Chair of CDD-Ghana)
– Farida Bemba Nabourema (Director of the Katutu Civil Rights Center)
Speakers’ bios
E. Gyimah-Boadi, Senior Adviser and Emeritus Board Chair, Afrobarometer
E. Gyimah-Boadi is a co-founder of Afrobarometer. He served as its chief executive from 2008 to 2021 and board chair from 2021 to 2025. He is also founder and former executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana). A former professor at the University of Ghana, Legon, he has held faculty positions and fellowships at the School of International Service of the American University; the Center for Democracy, Rule of Law and Development; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the U.S. Institute of Peace; and the International Forum for Democratic Development. His myriad awards include the 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Social Justice. In 2021, New African named him one of its “100 Most Influential Africans.”
Haja Ramatulai Wurie, Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Sierra Leone
Haja Ramatulai Wurie is a distinguished academic, researcher, and visionary leader, currently serving as Sierra Leone’s Minister of Technical and Higher Education. With over a decade of experience as a Senior Lecturer and multi-disciplinary researcher at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, University of Sierra Leone, Dr. Wurie has consistently championed capacity-building and evidence-informed systems for national development.
Her academic credentials are both broad and deep. She earned a B.Sc. (Hons) in Biochemistry from the University of Liverpool, followed by an M.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Wolverhampton, a Ph.D. in Medicine from Warwick Medical School, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Health Management Policy and Planning from the University of Leeds. These qualifications have shaped her data-driven, inclusive approach to education reform.
As a researcher, Haja has led several projects focused on strengthening health systems in Sierra Leone, promoting national ownership and collaborative strategies. She has played a pivotal role in building institutional research capacity at the University of Sierra Leone, fostering a culture of inquiry and innovation among faculty and students alike.
Her expertise has gained global recognition: she contributed to two major Lancet Commissions and was named a Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership Fellow. Now, as Minister, she is dedicated to transforming Sierra Leone’s education sector through equitable, inclusive, and quality-driven policies.
Sy Mamabolo, Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission of South Africa
Sy Mamabolo is the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the Electoral Commission. He has extensive experience in electoral administration spanning almost 20 years, and is a veteran of eight elections since the advent of democracy in South Africa.
Prior to his present role, he served as Deputy Chief Electoral Officer of Electoral Operations for five years, during which he oversaw operations for the 2014 National and Provincial Elections and the 2016 Municipal Elections. This position entails the strategic leadership of the entire electoral programme, which involves the articulation of the legal mandate into a coherent strategic plan with its concomitant business plans. He spearheaded the legislative amendments in Parliament for both the last general elections. Before that he was Provincial Electoral Officer for Gauteng, the province which is the economic hub of South Africa.
Sy Mamabolo has extensive experience in research and public administration. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and a Master’s Degree in Management, both from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Audrey Gadzekpo, Emeritus Professor of Communications and Board Chair of CDD-Ghana
Professor Audrey Sitsofe Gadzekpo is a distinguished Ghanaian media practitioner and the Dean of the School of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana. She has a rich background as a communications consultant and lecturer, with a strong advocacy record representing women’s groups. A founding member of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), she currently serves as its Board Chair. Additionally, she is a member of the advisory board of Webster Ghana.
Farida Bemba Nabourema Director of the Katutu Civil Rights Center
Farida Nabourema is a political activist and a writer, widely recognized as the unequivocal voice of Togo’s pro-democracy movement. Since her teenage years, Farida has fearlessly advocated for democracy and human rights in Togo. Currently, Farida serves as the Executive Director of the Katutu Civil Rights Center, a hub for political movements incubating strategies to support citizens’ efforts in disrupting authoritarianism and advancing civil rights and liberties across Africa. Farida holds degrees in International Relations and Conflict Prevention.
Previously, she led the Gender Equality Network for Small Arms Control (GENSAC), a program under the Center for International Cooperation at New York University, before serving as Director of Engagement at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID). Her expertise in security and gender justice earned her recognition among the 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy by Apolitical in 2021.
In academia, Farida served as a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where she led research on gender-based repression under authoritarian regimes. She was also a visiting scholar and lecturer at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and taught graduate-level courses on authoritarianism and civil resistance at the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
Farida is the author of The Pressure of Oppression (2014) and Melancholies of the Oppressed (2025). Her political commentary has appeared in World Politics Review, The New York Times, African Arguments, Forbes, The Elephant, and several other outlets. A passionate writer, Farida has published over 600 articles since she began blogging in 2009, using her voice to confront authoritarianism and inspire civic engagement in the fight for democracy.
Farida sits on the boards of several international think tanks and institutions, including the Gender Institute of Royal Holloway University, the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), the Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED), and the Finney Freedom Prize of the Human Rights Foundation.
Rorisang Lekalake, Senior Analyst/Methodologist, Afrobarometer
Rorisang Lekalake (Rori) is senior analyst/methodologist for Afrobarometer, charged with contributing to the organisation’s analytical outputs, strengthening existing methodologies, and contributing to building the capacity of network staff and partners in quantitative research methods and analysis. She previously served as the organisation’s assistant project manager for Southern Africa based at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).
Prior to rejoining Afrobarometer, Rori completed a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she was an affiliate of the MIT Political Experiments Research Lab (PERL) and the MIT Global Diversity Lab (GDL). She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and French from the University of Pennsylvania.