Our final episode of our second season features Nicholas Opiyo, the Founder and Executive Director and Lead Attorney at Chapter Four Uganda, a civil rights organization providing pro bono legal representation for marginalized and underserved communities in Uganda. Since 2005, Nicholas has been at the forefront of championing civil rights and political freedoms for underserved communities in Uganda. For his work, Nicholas has received several awards including the German Africa Prize in 2017, Voices for Justice Award from Human Rights Watch in 2015, the European Union Parliament Sakharov Fellows Prize in 2016, the Alison Des Forges award for extraordinary activism in 2015 and the Tulip Human Rights Prize by the Dutch Government in 2021. 

Currently, Nicholas is a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy. Previously, he was a Visting Scholar at The Centre for African Studies, Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and a Visiting Scholar at The Global Health Program, University of California San Francisco.  Nicholas is also an amateur photographer and an ardent soccer fan, supporting SC Villa in Uganda and Manchester United in the United Kingdom.

Nicholas speaks about the most pressing human rights concerns in Uganda at present, how social media is shaping the discourse around human rights all over the world and renewing commitment to the rule of law in Uganda. Nicholas also speaks about how participants in civil society could reclaim public conversation in connection with the protection of civil liberties.  Nicholas also shares his love for SC Villa, a leading football club in Uganda.

*Note: This episode was recorded prior to Chapter Four resuming its operations in June 2022, after a successful challenge before the High Court of Uganda.