Akere T. Muna
Laywer and Founder of Transparency International Cameroon
Akere T. Muna is the founder and former President of Transparency International (TI) Cameroon. In that capacity he was instrumental in causing the Cameroon to join EITI. Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1978, he is a lawyer by training.
In 2007-2008, he was appointed member of the independent High-Level Audit Panel of the African Union.
From 2008 to 2014, he was elected President of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), one of the organs of the African Union – A position he held until 2014.
He is a former President of the Pan African Lawyers Union (2005-2014) and former President of the Cameroon Bar Association.
He is a former member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Advisory Group for Sub-Saharan Africa (2010).
In January 2010, he was elected for a four-year term to the Panel of Eminent Persons, which oversees the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). He later became the Chairperson of this panel until the end of his term in 2014. The APRM is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by AU member States as an African self-monitoring mechanism. It is often described as “Africa’s unique and innovative approach to governance” with the objective of improving governance dynamics at the local, national and continental levels.
Akere Muna is a member of the Governing Board of the Africa Governance Institute and serves, since 2013, as a member of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. He initiated the discussions on the use of escrow accounts in the management of frozen Assets which later adopted by the Thabo Mbeki Report. He is also Co-Chair of CAPAR (The African Union’s Common African Position on Asset Recovery)
In 2013, Akere Muna was appointed as the first ever Sanctions Commissioner of the African Development Bank. He was actively involved in the TI working group that helped draft the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. He authored a guide to this Convention. He was elected Vice-Chair of TI’s Board in 2005. He proceeded to serve two more three-year terms, making it a total of nine years as Vice-Chair. He then served as Chair of the Council of the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC). The IACC is the world’s premier anti-corruption global forum, bringing together heads of state, civil society, the private sector and more.
He was appointed Chairperson of the Board of Directors of ECOBANK Cameroon in February 2017.
In February 2017, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), chaired by Lord Sebastian Coe, in pursuance of the process of enhancing the governance and integrity framework of the IAAF, appointed an inaugural Vetting Panel of three. Barrister Muna was named Chairperson.
Akere Muna resigned from his positions within ECOBANK Cameroon and the IACC as well as from his position at the African Development Bank to run for public office.
He is a Member of the International Council Transparency International.
Currently an International Legal Consultant on Governance and Anti-Corruption he has been consultant to many African governments. He currently advises the Presidency of Togo and the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo through UNDP as a Consultant.