Mr. Crispin Kugiza Kaheru is a distinguished Ugandan civil rights activist, champion and defender of human rights and liberties, who joined the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) as a Member of the Commission on Wednesday, 29th September 202, after being sworn in by the Chief Justice Alfonso Owiny-Dollo. He brings with him over 15 years of international experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating community-level election, human rights, accountability, peacebuilding, and conflict-resolution initiatives in Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe.

He is well-grounded in influencing teams, leading positive change, community initiatives, and mediating and resolving conflict. He is passionate about the nexus between governance and inclusive, sustainable, innovative, and climate-smart development. Mr. Kaheru has built an extensive international network of influencers especially on issues around citizen participation in governance, rule of law, and development. He has, over the years, demonstrated remarkable commitment to transforming citizen participation in governance and defending human rights.

The United Nations, the African Union, among others, recognize him as a key interlocutor. He has received both national and international recognition of excellence and was a nominee for the 2017 Human Rights Defenders Award of the European Union.

Between 2009 and 2019, Mr. Kaheru was the National Coordinator of the largest civic coalition in Uganda/Eastern and Southern Africa, the Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU).  As the project head, Mr. Kaheru led a civic education and advocacy portfolio focused on increasing citizens’ knowledge and participation in democratic processes. Ahead of Uganda’s 2011 elections, he led a groundbreaking voter mobilization campaign called Honour Your Vote, which mobilized 59% voter turnout amidst high levels of voter apathy as well as a political boycott. In 2016, he spearheaded the Votability voter education campaign that inspired a record 90% of eligible Ugandans to register to participate in the 2016 general elections. He later championed the implementation of the Topowa (don’t give up) multi-media messaging project that increased voter participation from 59% in 2011 to 68% in 2016. His organisation’s voter education campaigns not only received local and international recognition but also positively impacted Ugandans to meaningfully participate in elections. Mr. Kaheru’s vast experience and high competencies in heading projects charged with delivering civic education, therefore a big boost to the Commission’s efforts of delivering civic education to the citizenry, as one of its constitutional core mandates.

The Commission is indeed privileged to receive Mr. Kaheru on its policy making team given his vast experience in providing oversight to peace-building and electoral support processes in Uganda and other countries including: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Namibia, Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa, over the past decade.

He also comes to the Commission with knowledge in strategic alliances gained through his broad network of civic organizations in Uganda, on whose “Working Group of Seven” government and non-government institutions he has sat since 2016. These institutions are mandated to organize the National Dialogue Process for Uganda to adaptively address the root causes of conflict that have continuously threatened sustainable peace, security and development for the country and the region.

He currently serves on governing boards of reputable local and international organizations. He is: Chairperson of the East and Horn of Africa Election Observation Network (E-HORN) since 2018; Secretary of the National Initiative for Civic Education in Uganda (NICE-UG) since 2019; Member of the African Union (AU) team of Election Experts since 2014; and a Member of the International Board of Media Focus International (MFI) since 2014. Between 2014 and 2019, Mr. Kaheru was a Member of the Board of Directors of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda (ACCU), a national entity supporting the anti-graft crusade in Uganda. He is a Member of Uganda’s Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) Steering Group (SG) – a decision-making body of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework under the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda.

Mr. Kaheru possesses unique analytical and communication skills. He is an avid reader and writer who has authored over 500 analytical opinion pieces and over 10 research papers on elections, governance and human rights. He is fluent in English and is able to communicate in basic Swahili and French.

Mr. Kaheru began his elaborate professional career in 2005 at the International Republican Institute (IRI), a US democracy promotion NGO and worked at IRI’s offices in Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh, rising from an Intern to a Program Officer posting within three (3) years. He also had a short stint at the IRI Washington DC Office in 2009.

His academic credentials include a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Management from Makerere University, Kampala (2013), a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Makerere University Kampala (2005) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies from the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain (2009). Mr. Kaheru also holds a Certificate in the Practice of Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America (2018). In 2019, he completed a United Nations’ sponsored Insider Mediators course at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael) in The Hague. He has also trained and practiced in NGO and corporate governance, public sector management, administrative law, and strategic management. He spent part of his childhood in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, where he underwent homeschooling.

As part of his ethos, Mr. Kaheru believes in always being serious and standing up for those who may not be able to standup for themselves. His mantra is, “I am the one I have been waiting for” and “be the change that you want to see”. He believes that when the truth is replaced by silence, then that silence is a lie.

Follow him on Twitter: @ckaheru