Draft:Namatai Kwekweza

Namatai Kwekweza (born November 30, 1998) is a Zimbabwean human rights activist. She is recognized for her work in leadership development within the realms of democracy, human rights , and pan-Africanism. Kwekweza is the founding director of WELEAD Trust, a youth organization in Zimbabwe dedicated to leadership development and advocacy.

Early life
Namatai Kwekweza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. She engaged in public speaking and she was involved in chess competitions during her schooling years.

Career
Namatai is the Director of WELEAD Trust, a national organization in Zimbabwe focused on youth leadership and advocacy. In 2023, she joined the global youth action team under CIVICUS World Alliance. Kwekweza is also a Ford Global Fellow.

As a speaker, Kwekweza has participated in public speaking competitions such as the 2023 Southern Africa Toastmasters International competition. She has also been a panelist and moderator at the 2023 Athens Democracy Forum and a panelist at the 2024 Creative Bureaucracy Festival.

Kwekweza's early activism and a notable viral speech have contributed to her recognition within the public sphere. Namatai Kwekweza has been actively engaged in constitutionalism, notably taking a stand against Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 2 in 2020. As a result of her advocacy, Kwekweza faced legal consequences and was arrested twice. However, her charges were later dropped after the state failed to substantiate its case.

Awards

 * In 2023, Kwekweza became the first recipient of the Kofi Annan NextGen Democracy Prize from the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Democracy and Culture Foundations at the Athens Democracy Forum
 * She was awarded first place in Public Speaking by Toastmasters International Southern Africa District 74 and Toastmasters International Division Z in May 2023.
 * Namatai was awarded the WalkAbout Prize in 2020 as part of the Next Generation Foresight Practitioner (NGFP)Awards by the School of International Futures.