Ugandan lawyer Nicholas Opiyo was honoured with this year‘s German Africa Award for his efforts and dedication to defending the rule of law and political liberty in Uganda.
Opiyo, 37, ranks among the major Ugandan voices for constitutional order and rule of law in an increasingly autocratic setting.
The founder and head of “Chapter Four Uganda” is an outspoken and prominent defendant of political participation aswell as for the constitutionally guaranteed Freedom of Expression, Press and Assembly. He played a substantial role in the annulment by the Ugandan Constitutional Court of the anti-homosexuality law of 2013.
Currently, Opiyo is defending Makerere university lecturer Dr. Stella Nyanzi, who has just been released after more than a month in jail on charges of cyber harassment and offensive communication.
For his relentless and courageous work, he will now be awarded with the German Africa Award, for which he has been selected by an independent expert jury.
The festive ceremony will take place in November this year in Berlin and the award will be conferred by a leading representative of German politics.
We are delighted that through our nomination @nickopiyo is being awarded the German Africa Prize 2017. It is well deserved. Congratulations! https://t.co/acqktv1Zk2
— KAS Uganda & S.Sudan (@KasUganda) May 7, 2017
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