From Serving Under PLO Lumumba Foundation to Honouring Its Founder: My Journey Comes Full Circle

Seven years after I joined the PLO Lumumba Foundation’s Ghana Chapter, I found myself helping to honour the man whose platform once gave me an opportunity to serve.

Some moments in our professional journeys only reveal their full meaning when we look back.

For me, one such moment came in 2026, when I had the privilege of being part of an organisation that honoured Professor Patrick Loch Otieno (PLO) Lumumba, seven years after I first joined the PLO Lumumba Foundation's Ghana Chapter.

It was more than an award ceremony.

It was a moment of reflection.

A moment of gratitude.

And, perhaps most importantly, a moment that reminded me of how far a single opportunity can take us.

It began in February 2019

My journey with the PLO Lumumba Foundation began in February 2019, when I was appointed Deputy Head of Media and Communication of the Foundation's Ghana Chapter.

I later served as the Foundation's Head of Media and Communication, contributing to its media, communications, and advocacy activities.

At the time, I saw the appointment primarily as an opportunity to serve.

Looking back today, I realise that it was much more than that.

It was an opportunity to learn.

It was an opportunity to observe.

It was an opportunity to work within the ecosystem of a Pan-African institution and to encounter ideas that would continue to influence my professional journey long after my formal role with the Foundation had ended.

My appointment was publicly reported by GhanaWeb on February 7, 2019, under the headline “PLO Lumumba Foundation Ghana appoints Joseph Wemakor as Deputy Head of Media and Communication.”

That publication captured what was, at the time, a new chapter in my professional life.

I could not have known then where that chapter would eventually lead.

Learning from a Pan-African icon

My association with Professor PLO Lumumba was not simply that of someone who admired a prominent African scholar from a distance.

I had the privilege of serving with the Foundation he had established and interacting with him through meetings, engagements and his public speeches.

Those experiences left an impression on me.

Professor Lumumba's emphasis on African responsibility, leadership, governance, constitutionalism, self-determination and Pan-African solidarity challenged me to think more deeply about Africa and our responsibilities as Africans.

His speeches were often more than speeches.

They were calls to reflection.

They challenged audiences to ask difficult questions about leadership, governance, justice and the future of the continent.

As a communications professional, I was particularly interested in the power of ideas and communication to influence public consciousness.

That experience strengthened my appreciation of communication not merely as a professional function, but as a tool that can contribute to human rights, youth empowerment, social change and development.

Seven years can change a lot

A lot has happened since that 2019 chapter of my life.

My professional journey gradually expanded from media and communications into human rights advocacy, civil society mobilisation, youth development and institutional leadership.

Eventually, I became Executive Director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG).

Through HRRG, I have had the opportunity to work with communities, civil society organisations, journalists, development actors and other stakeholders on issues relating to human rights, social justice, civic participation and sustainable development.

One of the initiatives that emerged from that journey was the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards.

The idea was simple but important: to create a platform for recognising individuals and institutions whose leadership, service and contributions advance human rights, democratic renewal, justice, dignity and sustainable development.

And then came 2026.

The moment everything came full circle

At the inaugural HRRG Global RightsShield Awards in Abuja, Nigeria, Professor PLO Lumumba was selected to receive the HRRG Global RightsShield Award for Pan-African Legal Thought and Moral Leadership.

The Awards were held under the theme:

“Championing Human Rights and Democratic Renewal.”

Professor Lumumba was unable to attend the ceremony personally, and his award was received on his behalf by Ambassador Aliyu Suleiman of the Nigeria Chapter of the PLO Lumumba Foundation.

As I reflected on the moment, I could not help but think about February 2019.

Seven years earlier, I had joined the Foundation as someone eager to serve and learn.

Seven years later, I was leading an organisation that was recognising its founder.

That realisation was deeply humbling.

I described it as a “very humbling full-circle moment.”

And it truly was.

I remember thinking about how differently the two moments looked.

In 2019, I was receiving an opportunity.

In 2026, I was part of a team creating an opportunity to recognise someone whose work had influenced me.

The roles had changed.

But the values that connected the two moments remained.

From service to leadership

I often think about how our professional journeys develop.

We rarely know where one opportunity will lead.

When I joined the PLO Lumumba Foundation in 2019, I did not know that seven years later I would be serving as Executive Director of a human rights organisation and helping lead an international awards platform.

I certainly did not know that the same platform under which I had once served would become part of the story behind one of the people we would eventually honour.

That is why I believe strongly in the value of service.

Every opportunity to serve is also an opportunity to learn.

Every opportunity to learn can become an opportunity to grow.

And growth, when accompanied by responsibility and commitment, can eventually create opportunities to lead.

What I learned

Looking back, I realise that some of the principles that guide my work today were strengthened during my time with the Foundation.

Human dignity.

Responsible leadership.

Pan-African solidarity.

Youth empowerment.

African self-determination.

And the importance of using communication to influence positive social change.

Professor Lumumba may not know the full extent to which his words and example have influenced people like me.

But I know what I learnt.

And I believe that is one of the most important dimensions of mentorship and influence.

Sometimes, people who influence us may never fully appreciate the extent of their influence.

A speech they delivered years ago may remain in someone's mind.

An opportunity they provided may become the foundation of another person's career.

An example they set may shape someone's understanding of leadership.

And years later, that influence may reappear in ways neither person anticipated.

Why honour Professor Lumumba?

The decision to honour Professor Lumumba through the HRRG Global RightsShield Awards was, therefore, significant to me on both an institutional and personal level.

Institutionally, the award recognised his contribution to Pan-African legal thought and moral leadership.

The citation accompanying the award recognised his:

“Exceptional intellectual leadership, ethical courage, and steadfast advocacy for constitutionalism, good governance, and African unity.”

Professor Lumumba's contribution to African intellectual and public discourse is substantial.

He has served in significant professional and public positions in Kenya and has remained a prominent voice on pan-Africanism, governance, constitutionalism, and African leadership.

But for me, the recognition also represented something more personal.

It was one African institution recognising an African institution of thought.

It was a recognition of the influence that ideas can have across generations.

And, in a small but meaningful way, it was a moment in which a former member of the Foundation's Ghana Chapter could say:

Thank you.

One African institution recognising another African institution of thought

I have said that I do not see the award simply as HRRG honouring an individual.

I see it as one African institution recognising another African institution of thought.

Professor Lumumba's ideas, speeches, scholarship and example have influenced many Africans who continue to work for a better continent.

People may disagree with particular ideas or perspectives, as they should in a healthy intellectual environment.

But there can be no doubt about the importance of creating spaces where African intellectual thought, leadership and responsibility are taken seriously.

That is part of what Pan-Africanism should mean to us.

It should challenge us to think beyond ourselves.

To understand our shared responsibilities.

To value African dignity.

And to ask what contribution each of us can make to the Africa we want to see.

The lesson I take from the journey

Perhaps the greatest lesson I take from this experience is that we should never underestimate the significance of an opportunity to serve.

When I entered the PLO Lumumba Foundation in 2019, I was focused on the responsibilities immediately before me.

I wanted to do the work well.

I wanted to contribute.

I wanted to learn.

I did not know that the experience would become part of a story I would be telling seven years later.

Today, I understand that professional journeys are often built one opportunity at a time.

One relationship at a time.

One lesson at a time.

One act of service at a time.

And sometimes, years later, we look back and realise that the pieces have been connecting all along.

From mentee to leader

There is a particular satisfaction in being able to honour someone whose platform once gave you an opportunity to serve.

It is not about claiming that one's entire journey is the product of one person.

It is about acknowledging influence.

It is about recognising those who opened doors.

It is about appreciating the lessons we received along the way.

And it is about making sure that whatever we learnt is passed on to others.

If there is one thing I would like to carry forward from this experience, it is this:

The opportunity to serve someone or something bigger than yourself can become one of the most important investments in your own future.

The people who give us an opportunity to serve today may unknowingly be preparing us for the opportunity to lead tomorrow.

Seven years later

In 2019, I joined the PLO Lumumba Foundation's Ghana Chapter to serve.

I served.

I learnt.

I grew.

I moved into broader human rights and civil society work.

And in 2026, I found myself helping to lead an organisation that honoured the founder of the platform under which I had once served.

Seven years.

Two different roles.

One continuing journey.

From service to leadership.

From learning to recognition.

From being part of a platform to creating a platform of recognition.

And ultimately, from one chapter of my professional journey to another.

Looking back, I can only describe it in one way:

My journey had come full circle.

And for that, I remain deeply grateful.