Who we are
board
William
Bourdon
Chair
William Bourdon is a lawyer and member of the Paris bar, specialized in corporate, media and criminal law.
show moreA lawyer at the forefront in the field of Human Rights, he defends victims of globalization and crimes against humanity. Bourdon is the advocate of whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Hervé Falciani (Swissleaks) and Antoine Deltour (Luxleaks). In 2001, he founded the association Sherpa the purpose of which is to “defend victims of crimes committed by economic operators.” He was secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights from 1995 to 2000. William Bourdon is the author of several publications on questions of international justice and Human rights and the “Petit manuel de désobéissance citoyenne” (Short manual on citizens’ disobedience) (2014).
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Khadija
Sharife
Administrator
Khadija Sharife is an award-winning investigative journalist, researcher and editor.
show moreShe is the Africa editor of OCCRP, author of “Tax Us If You Can: Africa”, board member of Finance Uncovered and fellow with the World Policy Institute. Previously, she was the editor at the African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR). Her work has been presented at a number of forums including OECD, AU, Pan-African Parliaments among other platforms. She holds a master of financial law and is based in South Africa. She is the former director of PPLAAF.
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Moussa
Aksar
Administrator
Moussa Aksar is a prominent investigative journalist and consultant from Niger.
He is known for his commitment to the fight against corruption, drug trafficking, fake medicines and human rights violations. In 2002, he founded the Nigerien newspaper L’Événement and became its managing editor.
He also holds other important positions, including President of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism (CENOZO). He is an active member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and several other investigative journalism organizations such as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (ORCCP) and the International Group Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN).
Moussa Aksar has published numerous articles, including on Mouammar Kadhafi military ambitions in Niger and financial malfeasance in the Niger Ministry of Defense. He has also participated in several global investigative journalism investigations such as Fatal extraction, Panama Papers, Ficenfiles, Pandora Papers and west Africa leaks led by ICIJ.
Jihan
El-Tahri
Administrator
Jihan El-Tahri is an award-winning director, writer, producer and visual artist.
show moreShe is an Egyptian and French national, who started her career as a Foreign Correspondent covering Middle East Politics. She has produced and directed numerous documentaries, including “Egypt’s Modern Pharaohs”, “Behind the Rainbow”, “Cuba, an African Odyssey”, as well as the Emmy nominated House of Saud. Her writings include “Les Sept Vies de Yasser Arafat” (Grasset) and “Israel and the Arabs, The 50 Years war” (Penguin). El-Tahri has served as treasurer of the Guild of African Filmmakers in the Diaspora, Regional Secretary of the Federation of Pan African Cinema (FEPACI) and as an Advisor on Focus Feature’s Africa first Program.
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Alioune
Tine
Administrator
Alioune Tine is a prominent Human rights defender in Western Africa.
show moreA former professor at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, he created in 1990 with other activists the Rencontre africaine pour la defense des droits de l’Homme (RADDHO), one of the most influential human rights organizations in francophone Africa, always at the forefront of the fight against impunity. Tine had been the director of the RADDHO for more than 20 years when he was appointed president of the Human Rights Senegalese Committee, an administrative authority responsible for advising the Senegalese Government on Human rights protection. In 2015, Alioune Tine was appointed Director of Amnesty international for Western Africa, running the work of Amnesty in 22 African countries. In 2018 he founded Afrikajom Center, a think-thank aiming at strengthening the Rule of Law in the region. He is also the UN Independent Expert on Human rights in Mali.
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Headquarters
Henri
Thulliez
Executive Director
Henri Thulliez is a lawyer and member of the Paris bar. He graduated in Law School at University of Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, and holds a LLM from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) as well as a Master in International administration from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He was the coordinator at Human Rights Watch of the Hissène Habré case, the former president of Chad who was tried before a special court in Senegal. Henri Thulliez has written numerous articles in Le Monde, Libération, Huffington Post US, Huffington Post France and Newsweek Europe.
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Gabriel
Bourdon-Fattal
Director of Programmes
Gabriel Bourdon-Fattal is the Director of Programmes at PPLAAF. Gabriel is an experienced human rights jurist and campaigner. Among others, Gabriel led an organisation against the deportation of migrant workers’ children and worked on environmental justice issues in the Middle East. Gabriel has an LL .B from the University of Haifa and a Master in African Legal Studies from Université Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Gabriel is an alumnus of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin and of the Our Generation Speaks Fellowship in Boston.
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Simon
Quet
Chief Operations Officer
Simon Quet is Chief Operations Officer at PPLAAF. Simon is an experienced Chief of Operations with fifteen years of expertise in humanitarian action, human rights, environment protection and anti-corruption. He managed the institutional funding department of CCFD-Terre Solidaire, organized the development of Sherpa, a French litigation and advocacy NGO, during 5 years and overviewed emergency response programs for various humanitarian NGOs. He studied International Relations and Crisis Management at Sciences Po Lille.
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John
Dell’Osso
Director of Investigations
John Dell’Osso is a financial crime investigator with experience on cases involving public sector corruption, corporate misconduct, money-laundering, and various collusive practices. In addition to directing PPLAAF’s investigative efforts, John also identifies technologies that can be applied to complex security challenges and strengthen whistleblower protection. Previously, John undertook investigations related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a non-profit investigative organization focused on crime and corruption. During his tenure, he published a range of reports, including in the context of the Congo Hold-Up investigative collaboration. John’s work has appeared in major publications in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. He has degrees in the social sciences and enjoys being an autodidact.
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Zeineb
Abdennebi
Project Manager
Zeineb Abdennebi is Project Manager at PPLAAF. Zeineb has a background in international law from Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne as well as in international project management from IRIS Sup. She was previously a Project Officer at the Ministry of Justice’s Delegation of European and International Affairs. She has also worked on the protection of migrant’s rights in North Africa for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and on cooperation regarding trafficking in human beings within the MENA region for the Council of Europe.
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Zanele
Mbuyisa
Legal Counsel
Zanele Mbuyisa is the legal counsel of PPLAAF and a director and co-founder of the Mbuyisa Neale Attorneys firm (South Africa), with a successful track record having served her articles and worked as a solicitor at a UK law firm, Leigh Day. In 2005 Zanele co-founded Garratt Mbuyisa Neale Attorneys which became Mbuyisa Neale Attorneys in 2012. She then went on to help establish Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys in January 2017. Each of the previous law firms holds a significantly successful track record in litigation as well as settlement negotiation. In her 20 years of experience in practice, she is well known for her involvement in representing victims of economic crimes. Zanele is also the co-founder of Haki Legal Clinic, a free legal clinic established in 2017 to provide quality legal services for free to people who cannot afford legal services.
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Roshnee
Narrandes
Southern Africa Director
Roshnee Narrandes is Southern Africa Director at PPLAAF. Roshnee has a long history of working on Human Rights, Social Justice, Democracy and Governance within the SADC region, particularly on policy and advocacy. She has worked with the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), in the donor space with the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and most recently was the lead for Freedom House as part of a consortium implementing a USAID funded program on Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA). She has vast experience on Human Rights Defenders and is particularly interested in the rights of marginalized and vulnerable communities. Roshnee has an undergraduate degree in English and Communications from the University of Johannesburg, a Masters in Public and Development Management from the University of the Witwatersrand and has completed a number of short courses including one on Leadership in Africa at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
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Gemma-Maé
Hartley
Project Officer
Gemma-Maé is the Regional Project Officer for PPLAAF Southern Africa. She has a Master’s Degree in Political and International Studies from Rhodes University, specialising in Human Rights and violations thereof. Gemma has a background in research, political analysis, and communications management, with various academic and online publications.
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Jimmy
Kande
Western Africa Director
Anti-corruption activist Jimmy Kande is the Western Africa Director of PPLAAF. Originally a financial expert and banker, he worked as a credit risk manager at the Commercial Bank of Congo and is the President of the Pan African Anti-Corruption Network, UNIS. He has worked as a Senior Researcher in Political Economy at the Congo Research Group, a project based at New York University. He is a coordinating member of the “Congo is not for sale” platform, a coalition of 14 local and international organizations (PPLAAF, Global Witness, The Carter Center, Congo Research Group, Resource Matters) fighting corruption in the DRC. He holds a degree in finance and development from the Catholic University of Congo and a degree in banking management from the Ecole Supérieure de la Banque de Paris.
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Marie Paule
Conaré
Project Officer
Marie Paule Conaré is a project officer for PPLAAF. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the University of Paris Nanterre and is a legal expert and activist. She participated in the testing campaign conducted by SOS Racisme for the study on “Racial discrimination in housing” published by the association in 2019. She also worked for the African Meeting for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO) where she carried out monitoring and reporting of human rights violations in Senegal. She is very sensitive to the issue of gender-based violence and has the ambition to act to fight against this violence in Senegal.
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Emmanuel
Shall
Program Manager
Emmanuel Shall is Program Manager at PPLAAF. Emmanuel has over a decade of experience as a Conflict Program Specialist at Mercy Corps International’s Community Initiative to Promote Peace (CIPP), Emmanuel has led transformative projects, fostering transparency and peace across six Nigerian states. Armed with a master’s degree in Development Studies and Disaster Risk Management, Emmanuel’s expertise extends beyond project management to encompass conflict sensitivity and partnership building. His involvement with initiatives such as the Africa Agenda Forum underscores his commitment to effecting change at grassroots and policy levels alike. With a rich tapestry of certifications in project management, conflict resolution, and transparency, Emmanuel’s journey is one of relentless advocacy, driving social transformation and advancing the cause of whistleblower protection and human rights across the continent.
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Salimatou
Diallo
Program Assistant
Salimatou Diallo is a program assistant at PPLAAF’s office in Dakar. Salimatou has a bachelor’s degree in economics and management and a master’s degree in accounting and financial management. At 23 years old, she is the youngest member of the PPLAAF team and advocates for personal development for the benefit of communities in Senegal.
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Anas
Aremeyaw
Anas Aremeyaw Anas is a Ghanaian investigative journalist.
show moreAnas’s motto is “name, shame and jail” and he is famous for utilizing his anonymity as a tool in his investigative arsenal. Anas has won critical acclaim for his work advocating for basic human rights such as the right to not be held in human slavery or servitude and for his work exposing corruption. Anas has won more than 14 international awards for his investigative work. He was named one of the “Most Influential Africans of the Year” by New African magazine. In December 2015, Foreign Policy magazine named Anas one of 2015’s leading global thinkers, an honour previously granted to the likes of Barack Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Pope Benedict XVI, and Malala Yousafzai.
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Fadel
Barro
Fadel Barro is a journalist, Senegalese activist and founder of the “Y’en a marre” movement.
show moreTrained as an investigating journalist, he is the cofounder of the Senegalese civic movement “Y’en a Marre” and one of its main architects since its creation in January 2011. Leader of a “conquering youth who turn its back on exile and defeatism”, Fadel Barro through his slogan “there is no foreclosed destiny there are only deserted responsibilities” knew how to make civic engagement a philosophy of humanist action which rallied the young people of the continent to open new possibilities. He inspired a generation of activists who find themselves today within the Afrikki platform, made up of around fifty citizens’ movements and committed artists across Africa and its diasporas. The organization of the first Popular University of Citizen Engagement (UPEC) in Dakar in July 2018, helped consolidate and amplify the exchange of practices and experiences from these movements which, spontaneously drawing on the arts and culture, strengthen democracy and freedoms in Africa. Fadel Barro has been the Ambassador of Consciousness of Amnesty International since 2016 and was PPLAAF’s regional coordinator from 2020 until 2022.
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Sihem
Bensedrine
Writer and journalist, expert in transitional justice, Sihem Bensedrine is a figure in the fight for human rights in Tunisia.
show moreShe has worked for more than three decades to expose violations and defend freedoms. Under Ben Ali’s despotic regime, she was imprisoned, persecuted and subjected to smear campaigns and slander. After the 2011 revolution, she continued her fight for human rights, women’s rights and freedom of expression. From June 2014 to December 2018 Sihem Bensedrine was president of the “Truth and dignity body” which implemented the law on transitional justice and published a report on human rights violations including recommendations on institutional reforms guaranteeing non-repetition. Sihem Bensedrine has received more than fifteen awards for her courage and her fight for freedoms, including those awarded by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. She is Doctor Honoris causa from ULB and VUB. She is also the author of several books including “Lettre à une amie iraquienne” published by La Découverte editions in 2003.
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Rokhaya
Diallo
Rokhaya Diallo is a French journalist, author and director, recognized for her work in favor of racial, gender and religious equality.
show moreShe is a columnist for the Washington Post and a researcher at the Gender + Justice Initiative Research Center at Georgetown University. She is now a media figure in France and in 2020 is one of the 28 most powerful personalities in Europe according to the Politico website. She is a columnist on various television and radio channels and has produced several shows and documentaries. In 2006, Rokhaya Diallo co-founded the NGO Les Indivisibles, the aim of which is to deconstruct, notably through humor, ethno-racial prejudices. She has written several essays and comics including “Don’t stay in your place!” from the Marabout editions (2019) or “La France, tu t’aime ou tu ferme?” published by Textuel (2019). She also produced in 2021 “the Parisienne Demystified”.
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Andrew
Feinstein
Andrew Feinstein is a South African writer and campaigner based in the UK.
show moreHe was a facilitator in the constitutional negotiations process that led to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, when he was elected an ANC Member of Parliament. He served as a MP for more than seven years – on Parliament’s Finance committee, serving as Deputy Chair of the country’s Audit Commission and as the ranking ANC member on the key financial oversight body, the Public Accounts Committee. He resigned in protest when the Public Accounts Committee was prohibited from investigating a massive arms deal involving several European companies that was tainted by allegations of high-level corruption.
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Samantha
Feinstein
Administrator
Samantha Feinstein is the Staff Attorney and Director of the International Program at Government Accountability Project.
show moreIn this role, Samantha drafts whistleblower legislation and leads legislative advocacy campaigns; implements trainings for judges, investigators, corporations and anti-corruption organizations; litigates whistleblower cases and conducts legal campaigns; manages teams and projects; and is a part of 16 different anti-corruption, labor, science, and whistleblower rights coalitions. She Vice Chair of the board of the UN Convention Against Corruption Coalition. Ms. Feinstein has 23 years of experience working in international law and development. She has an M.A. in International Relations and a J.D., and is admitted to practice law in Washington, DC.
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John
Githongo
John Githongo is the director of Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!, a non-governmental organisation involved in governance issues broadly defined.
show moreJohn is also a past Chairman of the Africa Institute for Governing with Integrity; Executive Vice Chair of the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA); Chair board member of the Africa Center for Open Governance (AFRICOG); and a Commissioner of the Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) of the British government. Previously, he served as Vice President of World Vision, Senior Associate Member, St Antony’s College Oxford; Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President in charge of Governance and Ethics of the Kenya Government; CEO of Transparency International Kenya and a board member of the Kenya Human Rights Commission. In 2011, he was selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine and one of the world’s top 100 global thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine.
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William
Gumede
William Gumede is Associate Professor in the School of Governance of the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
show moreHe is the Chairperson of the Democracy Works Foundation. One of his recent books is Restless Nation – Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg).
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Fatou
Jagne Senghore
Fatou Jagne is a Gambian Jurist, human rights advocate passionate about women’ rights and social justice.
show moreFatou has more than 20 years’ experience in the African regional human rights system, freedom of expression and access to information, media regulation and digital rights. she sits in many advisory and governance boards of public and NGOs.
She has received many awards and distinctions for her human rights work.
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Anuradha
Mittal
Anuradha Mittal, founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, is an internationally renowned expert on trade, development, human rights and agriculture issues.
show moreRecipient of several awards, Anuradha Mittal was named as the Most Valuable Thinker by the Nation Magazine. The Institute has unveiled land investment deals in the developing world which revealed a disturbing pattern of lack of transparency, fairness and accountability. The dynamic relationship between research advocacy and international media coverage has resulted in an amazing string of successes and organising in the US and abroad.
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Alvin
Mosioma
Alvin Mosioma is the founding Executive Director of Tax Justice Network – Africa.
show moreMr. Mosioma who served as the Chair of the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC) is the leading voice on tax policy in Africa. He holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz and has special interest areas which include fiscal policy, international taxation, financial regulation and natural resource governance.
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Anna
Myers
Anna Myers is the founding Executive Director of the Whistleblowing International Network (WIN), a network to strengthen civil society organisations that defend and support whistleblowers around the world.
show moreAnna has worked in the field of whistleblowing law and practice for 21 years. Anna is originally from Canada and is a qualified UK lawyer. She was Deputy Director of Public Concern at Work (now called Protect) in London and worked for the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in Strasbourg. She advised the Council of Europe’s Committee on Legal Cooperation (CDCJ) on the 2014 CM Recommendation on the protection of whistleblowers and drafted the UNODC Resource Guide on good practices in the protection of reporting persons. Under her leadership, WIN helped secure an EU Directive to protect whistleblowers.
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Giovanni
Pellerano
Giovanni Pellerano is the Chief Technology Officer of GlobaLeaks, a privacy and transparency activist at the Hermes Center, IT, and an Italian computer engineer.
show moreIn 2012, he co-founded the Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights where he is researching the field of whistleblowing best practices and where he led the development of GlobaLeaks. In 2016, he co-founded Whistleblowing Solutions, a social enterprise offering whistleblowing services applied to anti-corruption with the strong aim of making the world a better place.
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Ben
Wizner
Ben Wizner is the director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.
show moreFor more than 15 years, he has worked at the intersection of human rights and national security, litigating numerous cases involving airport security policies, government watch lists, surveillance practices, targeted killing, and torture. He appears regularly in the global media, has testified before Congress, and is an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law. Since July 2013, he has been the principal legal advisor to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. Wizner is a graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law and was a law clerk to the Hon. Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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