Speaker details

Biography

Sonkita Conteh is a legal practitioner of the High Court of Sierra Leone and holds a master’s degree in human rights and democratization from the University of Pretoria. He is a co-founder of Namati, a legal empowerment organisation operating in six countries including Sierra Leone where he leads Namati's work on land rights and environmental justice. He worked as a consultant for two years with the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions Africa Office in Ghana, where he researched and reviewed law and policy on the right to water and sanitation in South Africa and Ghana; drafted amicus curiae briefs, publications, and training manuals; and provided training to civil society organizations. He was called to the Sierra Leone Bar in 2003 and was a member of the country’s General Legal Council, the body that regulates the legal profession. Sonkita is a Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow. In 2017, he was named as one of the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurs of the Year.