Dismissal of Lecturers at University of Lagos
In February 2020, the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Governing Council terminated the appointments of seven lecturers, including Professor Oluwatoyinn Ogundipe and Dr. Taiwo Oyedeji, who had publicly criticized the university administration’s handling of funds and government policies on higher education. The dismissals came shortly after the academics participated in a national debate on university autonomy […]
Violence Against Academics During 2019 Protests
During the 2019 Sudanese Revolution that led to the ousting of President Omar al-Bashir, universities became central sites of protest and subsequent repression. On April 11, 2019, security forces and militia groups loyal to al-Bashir stormed the campus of the University of Khartoum, Sudan’s oldest and most prestigious university. The attack targeted a peaceful sit-in […]
Targeting of Tigrayan Academics
Following the outbreak of conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in November 2020, academics of Tigrayan ethnicity faced widespread and systematic persecution. At Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia’s flagship higher education institution, dozens of Tigrayan professors reported ethnic profiling, surveillance, and intimidation. By December 2020, at least 20 Tigrayan academics had been placed on indefinite administrative leave […]
Imprisonment of Dr. Stella Nyanzi
Dr. Stella Nyanzi, a medical anthropologist, feminist scholar, and researcher at the Makerere University Institute of Social Research, was arrested after publishing a poem on Facebook critical of President Yoweri Museveni and his mother. The poem used explicit sexual metaphors and vulgar language, which is characteristic of “radical rudeness,” a traditional Ugandan form of protest […]
Resignation of Professor Tawana Kupe from the University of Pretoria
Professor Tawana Kupe unexpectedly resigned from his position as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Pretoria in June 2023, six months before the end of his term. Local media reported that he had recently been cleared of sexual harassment allegations. However, it was later revealed that Kupe had previously been found guilty of sexual harassment at […]