Current Board Members

H.E. John Dramani Mahama is the former President of the Republic of Ghana (2012-2016) and Chairperson of the Tana Forum Board. Mahama first entered into politics in 1996 when he joined the National Democratic Congress and was elected to Parliament. From there, he climbed the political ranks, starting with his appointment as Deputy Minister in Communications in 1997, followed by Minister of Communications in 1998. He was appointed as Minority Parliamentary spokesperson for Communications in 2001 and for Foreign Affairs in 2005. He was also a member of the Pan-African Parliament and Chairman of the West Africa Caucus based in South Africa from 2004 to 2011. On 7 January 2009, John Dramani Mahama became the Vice-President of Ghana, remaining in the post until President John Atta Mills’ untimely death on 24 July 2012, when, in line with Ghana’s Constitution, he became President of the Republic. Outside of national politics, in 2014 he was elected Chairperson of the African Union’s High-Level African Trade Committee (HATC) and also head of the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS). In 2016, during the World Economic Forum, Mahama was appointed co-chair of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates Group assisting the UN Secretary-General in the campaign to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and in 2017, Mahama presided over the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Liberia as head of mission.

H.E. Dr. Joyce Banda is President of the Joyce Banda Foundation and the former President of Malawi from 2012 to 2014. Dr. Banda was Malawi’s first female president and Africa’s second. An entrepreneur, activist, politician and philanthropist, Dr. Banda is a champion for the rights of women, children, the disabled, and other marginalised groups. She is a recipient of more than 15 international accolades including the 1997 “Hunger Project Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger” shared with President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

Lassina Zerbo, a Burkinabé statesman and scholar, held the position of Burkina Faso’s Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022. Before assuming this role, he served as the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

Catherine Samba-Panza was interim President of the Central African Republic from 2014 to 2016. She was the first woman to hold the post of head of state, and the eighth woman in Africa to do so. Prior to becoming head of state, she was Mayor of Bangui from 2013 to 2014.

His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta is the Facilitator of the East African Community (EAC) – Led Nairobi Peace Process on the restoration of peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta was elected the 4th President of the Republic of Kenya under the Jubilee Party on 9^th April, 2013, was re-elected for a second and final  term in August 2017, served up to 13^th September, 2022 and handed over to the  5^th President of the Republic of Kenya, after a peaceful election, and then he retired.

During his Presidency, President Kenyatta served as:

• Chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council;
• Chair of the Summit of East Africa Community Heads of State;
• Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA);
• President-in-Office of the Organization of the African, Caribbean and  Pacific States (OACPS);
• Member of the High-Level Panel for Sustainable Ocean Economy;
• Global Leader for the Young People’s Agenda;
• Led Kenya as a non- permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; and
• In his political life served in the Presidency of the 2^nd and 3^rd Presidents of the Republic of Kenya as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Leader of the Opposition Party, nominated Member of Parliament and Minister for Local Government.

Uhuru Kenyatta graduated with BA Economics & Political Science degree at Amherst College, Massachusetts, USA, and has worked as:

• Chief Executive in varying private sector companies with interest in Brick &  Tile Manufacturers; Tourism & Hotel management; Agricultural & Horticultural  Farming; Pharmaceutical Production & Distribution; Construction, Property  Management; Milk & Dairy Products Processing & Distribution;
• Chairman, Kenya Tourist Board;
• Chairman of Disaster Emergency Response Committee;
• He is married and has children and grandchildren; and
• He is a firm believer of the power of Unity and is inspired by: We Can Go Far Alone, But, We Can Go Even Further, When We Walk Together.

Currently and in addition to the above, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta is the Patron of the Kenyatta Trust and Chief Executive of various private investment companies and businesses.

Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi is the former United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria. He is also a member of The Elders, a group of world leaders working for global peace formed in 2007 at the initiative of late President Mandela. Amb. Brahimi also served as a Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General (2004-2005), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (2001-2004), and Under-Secretary-General for Special Assignments in Support of the Secretary-General’s Preventive and Peacemaking efforts. Amb. Brahimi has also held several national posts in his home country, serving as Foreign Minister, Diplomatic Adviser to the President of Algeria, Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Egypt and the Sudan, and Permanent Representative to the Arab League in Cairo.

Ambassador Tekeda Alemu has close to forty years of experience as a career diplomat. He was appointed Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York in January 2011 where he served as President of the Security Council in 2017. Prior to New York he had served twenty years in the capacity of, first, as Deputy Foreign Minister and then as State Minister.

Ambassador Alemu earned a B.A and M.A from UCLA and a Ph.D from Claremount Graduate School. He also taught at Addis Ababa University in the early 90’s with the rank of Assistant Professor.

Ambassador Soad Shalaby is the Director General for African Center for women. She is an Egyptian career diplomat who has served her country for over 40 years. She has also served as the International Cooperation Advisor for the Egyptian National Council for Women and the Director of the Women Business Development Centre (WBDC). She was previously the Director of the Cairo Regional Centre for Training on Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa (CCCPA) from 2007 to 2012. Ambassador Shalaby was the first woman to be appointed Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Institute for Diplomatic Studies. She served as the Egyptian Ambassador to Finland, Estonia, Mozambique and Swaziland. She has also served in numerous international and regional roles including with the African Union and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). She holds a Bachelor’s in Economics and Political Science from Cairo University, and completed her postgraduate studies in Political Science in McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

H.E. Mrs. Michelle Ndiaye is the Special Representative of the Chairperson and Head of the AU Liaison Office in Democratic Republic of Congo. She served as the Director of the Africa Peace and Security Programme in collaboration with the AU Commission at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) and the former Head of the Tana Forum Secretariat from 2012 – 2020. She has a wealth of experience in the field of democratic and local governance, post-conflicts and community recovery, sustainable development and environmental issues, transitional justice, communication and research.

Prof. PLO Lumumba is the Founder of the PLO Lumumba Foundation and a consultant with Lumumba and Lumumba Advocates, a member of the Africa Justice Group (AJG). He is an Associate Professor of Public Law, a holder of an LL.D (Doctor of Laws) on the Law of the Sea from the University of Ghent, Belgium, Master of Laws degree and Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi. He is an Advocate of the High Courts of Kenya and Tanganyika and a Certified Mediator. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya FCPS (K) and a Fellow of the Kenya Institute of Management (MKIM). He was the Founding Dean, Kabarak University School of Law, a former lecturer at the University of Nairobi (UON), the United States International University (USIU Africa) and Widener University USA (Nairobi Summer School). He is the immediate former Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya School of Law, a former Secretary of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission and a former Director of the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), (Now Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)). He is the Founding Trustee of the African Institute for Leaders and Leadership (AILL) and founding Chairman of the Association of the Citizens Against Corruption (ACAC). Prof PLO Lumumba holds an honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. He is a renowned legal practitioner and author of several books and articles.