THIS WEEK: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf accepts prize for African leadership

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf accepts prize for African leadership

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Pictured), the former President of Liberia, accepted the 2017 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership at a special leadership ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda on April 27.

Speaking to guests from Rwanda and around the world, President Sirleaf said: “I’m honoured to be this year’s recipient of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. I receive this distinction on behalf of the many women and men who helped to navigate the profound complexities of the postconflict country that is Liberia.

As the first woman to receive this award, it is my hope that women and girls across Africa will be inspired to break through barriers, and push back on the frontiers of life’s possibilities.” The Ibrahim Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership.

It is a US$5 million award paid over 10 years, and US$200,000 annually for life thereafter. Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said: “It is wonderful to have a winner this year, and it is also wonderful that the winner is a she.

How fitting that President Sirleaf is honoured here in Rwanda, as nobody has done more for women, and the gender issue, than Rwanda.”