Nkemakonam Agunwa, Global Programs Director

Nkem Agunwa is the Global Programs Director at WITNESS, leading the design, implementation and evaluation of our programmatic initiatives and the global team that brings them to life. Her work is driven by the conviction that the people closest to injustice must be equipped and trusted to document it, and their evidence must hold up even as emerging technologies make authentic footage easier to deny.

Before this, Nkem was Associate Director of Communications & Engagement, where she led strategy across communications, digital engagement, and public positioning. As Senior Africa Program Manager, she supported activists, journalists, and legal experts across the continent in using video and technology to defend human rights. She also led research on verification, synthetic media, and gendered disinformation, centering community-based defenders in resisting delegitimization and advancing justice.

Earlier, at Amnesty International Nigeria, she led human rights campaigns and strengthened documentation practices for accountability. Nkem holds an MA in Mass Communication from Liverpool John Moores University.