What makes good policing? Where do citizens and the police differ? This episode explores policing and human rights in Africa.

Further reading

https://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/