Kampala, Uganda – ‍The African Leadership Institute (AFLI) has announced 23 associates selected for the 2024 Class of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Fellowship program, including a former Uganda Broadcasting Television journalist Laureen Ampurire Fredah.

“It is a privilege to be welcoming this group of exceptional African leaders, who emerged from the more than 400 nominations received,” announced Dr. Jackie Chimhanzi the AFLI Executive Director, yesterday.

This year’s cohort includes associates from Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Their current endeavors span the domains of private business, public governance, and civil society, and their areas of influence range from finance and technology to human rights and the arts. 

This rich diversity of nationalities, professions, and perspectives is a defining feature of the program’s learning experience.  These associates demonstrate the incredible wealth and breadth of Africa’s leadership talent and the program is committed to strengthening their capacity as catalysts for positive, transformative impact across the continent.

Who is Laureen?

Laureen is an attorney practicing in the United Arab Emirates at Al Tamimi & Company, the largest and leading law firm in the Middle East and North Africa.  She is qualified to practice law in New York and a Solicitor in England, and Wales, and on the path to qualify in Uganda. 

She has worked in multiple departments in the firm assisting clients in dispute resolution, transport and insurance matters, and corporate commercial transactions. At her firm, Laureen is a pivotal member of the company’s Africa Working Group, a multijurisdictional team dedicated to enhancing its work and growing the business’ footprint in Africa

Outside of work, Laureen has assisted underprivileged persons both in Uganda and UAE, providing coaching guidance on self-representation in court, as well as legal advice, and is an advocate for the education of girls, specifically those facing forced displacement in Africa. Before changing her career to legal practice, Laureen was a celebrated TV journalist at UBC

Other Ugandan Tutus

Laureen joins a cohort of Uganda Tutu Fellows that have been growing since the inception of the programme in 2006. They include Journalists Andrew Mwenda and this writer. The other fellows are former speaker of the East African Parliament Rt. Hon Dan Kidega, Eunice Ajambo, Lydia Winyi Kembabazi, Vincent Bagiire, Carol Kembabazi, Nathan Nasolo, Victor Ochen and Alice Namuli Blazevic.

About the African Leadership Institute

The African Leadership Institute (AFLI) focuses on building the capacity and capability of visionary and strategic leadership across the continent. Developing exceptional leaders representing all spheres of society, the Institute’s flagship program is the prestigious Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship. Offering a multifaceted learning experience and run in partnership with Oxford University, it is awarded annually to 20-25 carefully chosen candidates, nominated from across Africa. Alumni of the African Leadership Institute form a dynamic network of Fellows passionately committed to the continent’s transformation, bridging the divide between nations and ensuring that Africa is set center-stage in global affairs.

About The Author

Arinaitwe Rugyendo

The Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ResearchFinds News and a Doctor of Philosophy in Journalism and Communication from Makerere University a credential that anchors his editorial vision in academic rigour and positions ResearchFinds News at the intersection of research and public interest journalism.

An accomplished journalist with over two decades of experience in Uganda’s media industry, Rugyendo has navigated every tier of the newsroom from cab reporter to Bureau Chief, Managing Editor, and Marketing and Digital Media Director at two of the country’s most consequential publications: the Daily Monitor and Red Pepper. At Red Pepper, he helped pioneer a participatory publishing model that transformed how Ugandan journalism related to its audience, a contribution that earned him international recognition and remains a reference point in African media scholarship.

Beyond the newsroom, Rugyendo has been recognised as a Desmond Tutu Fellow and a Crans Montana New Leader — distinctions that reflect his commitment not merely to journalism as a craft but to media as an instrument of social change. He serves as Chairman of Young Engineers Uganda, Uganda’s premier STEM and robotics education organisation, and as Chairman of the Uganda Premier League, demonstrating a leadership span that cuts across education, youth innovation, and sport.

With a PhD now in hand, a practitioner’s instinct sharpened over two decades, and a platform built on the conviction that research belongs in the public domain, Rugyendo is one of Uganda’s most distinctive voices at the intersection of scholarship, journalism, and nation-building.

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