Garvey-Nkrumah Fellowship Visit

The Center for Law and Innovation recently welcomed the Garvey-Nkrumah Fellowship Program to Kigali for a week of immersive learning, institutional visits, and cross-cultural exchange. Fourteen fellows and two facilitators took part in the visit, which forms part of a broader summer program aimed at preparing aspiring lawyers of African descent for impactful careers in international law, public policy, and conflict resolution.

The Garvey-Nkrumah Fellowship, founded by Professor John Woods of Howard University School of Law, is administered by the African Foundation for Capacity Building in Africa (AFCA) in partnership with Howard University. The program blends academic rigor with on-the-ground exposure to legal systems across Africa.

During their time in Rwanda, the fellows visited a number of key institutions, including the Kigali International Arbitration Center (KIAC), the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Kenyan Embassy, and the Kigali Genocide Memorial, among others. They also engaged with innovation hubs like Norrsken Kigali and SPENN Rwanda, offering a broader perspective on the intersection of law, entrepreneurship, and digital governance. These conversations created space for comparative learning, thoughtful dialogue, and deepened understanding of Rwanda’s evolving legal and policy frameworks.

Beyond formal visits, the fellows experienced Kigali’s vibrant landscape and took time to reflect on the country’s ongoing journey of transformation, memory, and innovation. As noted in last month’s update, three of the fellows have also been working closely with the CERTA Foundation as summer interns, contributing to projects across our centers and continuing to shape their practice through research, collaboration, and mentorship.

This visit reaffirmed the importance of investing in future-facing legal leadership through experiential learning and regional partnership. We look forward to building on this momentum in the years to come. 

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