The African Studies Association of the United Kingdom expresses its heartfelt gratitude to Dr Louisa Egbunike, who on 12 September 2026 stepped down as ASAUK President.
In various capacities, Louisa has made tremendous contributions to our Association. Over the past six years, she served on the Executive Committee, first as Honorary Treasurer, then as Vice President and, in the past two years, as President. She has done so with a great sense of service, care, humour and thoughtfulness—and also with a refreshing efficiency (with Louisa as Chair, most Council meetings would finish in about an hour, instead of the two hours scheduled for it, and no one ever complained about this, because Louisa would always make sure that everyone did have a chance to contribute to conversations).
Louisa’s efficiency, and her sense of diplomacy and strategy, was also obvious in the way she managed the complex and sensitive process of disentangling ASAUK from the Royal African Society (which had already started under the Presidency of Carli Coetzee), and to ensure that as an Association we have now control over our own administrative processes and finances. This allows us to embark on our own future as an academic Association, while still collaborating with RAS as and when that is relevant for our mission.
Louisa ended her Presidency on an absolute high note, by hosting the ASAUK 2026 conference at her home institution, the University of Durham (10-12 September 2026). This successful gathering brought together over 400 delegates from all over the UK, Europe, Africa, North America, and beyond, for in-depth conversations linked to the conference theme close to Louisa’s academic interest and passion: “Narrative, Power and the Making of African Worlds”.
As Louisa now takes a step back from the day-to-day running of ASAUK affairs, we wish her all the best with her career and personal life, and we hope and trust that she will continue to be involved in ASAUK and help shape African Studies in the UK in creative and imaginative directions.
The other three members of the 2024-2026 Executive Committee are staying on for another term, although in some cases they change roles:
- Adriaan van Klinken (University of Leeds), President (was Vice President)
- George Ogola (University of Nottingham), Vice President (was Honorary Treasurer)
- Carli Coetzee (University of Oxford), Honorary Secretary (continuing)
- Ife Okafor-Yarwood (University of St Andrews), Honorary Treasurer (new EC member)
This new Executive was elected for the term 2026-2028 during the Annual General Meeting at the Durham conference on 12 September 26.
