On June 18, 2026, African Leadership Academy celebrated its 17th graduation, welcoming 100 graduates into a network of more than 1,550 young leaders across Africa and the world. The ceremony was a moment to celebrate, but also to pause and look back on the two years this class spent learning, growing, struggling, building, and becoming together.
Dean Uzo Agyare-Kumi opened the ceremony with a question that stayed with the room: When you look at yourself, what do you see? She shared seven lessons with the graduates, not as a checklist for life, but as reminders they could return to. Her message was grounded in a simple but powerful idea: excellence and humility must go together, and leadership is not about the title you hold, but about how you choose to show up for others.
Keynote speaker Dr. Amel Karboul brought lessons from a life and career that did not always follow the plan. She spoke about an unexpected letter written at 2 a.m., a government ministry she never expected to serve in, and the honest decisions that shaped her path. Her message to the Class of 2024 was both comforting and challenging: you cannot plan everything, but you can keep listening to yourself, step forward before you feel completely ready, and stay committed to something bigger than your own success.
Student speaker Njoki Njoroge carried a box onto the stage. Inside were small objects from life at ALA: an empty packet of Smarties, sticky notes, bracelets, and a paper bow tie. Each item held a memory, but more importantly, each item pointed back to a person. For Njoki, that was the real story of ALA. She closed with a Swahili proverb that captured the spirit of the day: “Mtu ni watu.” A person is people.
The ceremony also honored students who had given deeply to the community. Adler Joao Mucoche received the Leadership Award for his steady and principled service as Co-Chair of the Honour Council. Temitope Oluwaseyifunmi Johnson was recognized for academic excellence and for the way he brought others along with him. Jeremy Sheldon Sakwa Muchilwa received the Sani Prize for his commitment to using science in service of the continent. Marwa Kriraa received the Spirit of Africa Award for the stories she brought to life through theatre, reminding the community that the arts are also a powerful form of leadership. The Honorary Diploma in Leadership was conferred on Dr. Karboul in recognition of a life spent in service of dignity, transformation, and the belief that leadership begins long before anyone gives you a title.
The ceremony also looked ahead. Two endowed scholarships were awarded to rising Year Two students: David Baba Sawaneh received the Shaheen Jassat Scholarship for his creative leadership, and Favour Jesudamife Bamidele-Tugbobo received the W. Paatii Ofosu-Amaah Scholarship for her academic commitment and care for those around her.
The Class of 2024 leaves ALA having been shaped by one of the most demanding and generous communities on the continent. They arrived as individuals, but they leave knowing, in a deeper way, that the work that matters most is never done alone.
