ABOUT Opiyo
Raised in Northern Uganda at a time when the Lord’s Resistance Army terrorized communities, Nicholas Opiyo’s early life was marked by the violence of both government and rebel forces. His sister was among the many thousands abducted, spending years in captivity before her escape. These experiences deeply influenced his decision to pursue law and dedicate his career to defending fundamental freedoms.
From 2013 to early 2025, Opiyo founded and led Chapter Four Uganda, a civil rights organization advancing civil liberties across the country. His career has also included service as Board Chair of Action Aid Uganda, membership on the Human Rights Advisory Board of BENETECH in California, and work with the UN Special Rapporteur’s expert team on the rights to peaceful assembly and association. He has been invited as a visiting scholar at Stanford University, the University of San Francisco, and Harvard Kennedy School, and served as an LL.M. Human Rights Fellow at Columbia Law.
Opiyo’s advocacy has been recognized around the world. Among his many honors are the Voices for Justice Award from Human Rights Watch (2015), the Sakharov Fellows Prize of the European Parliament (2016), the German Africa Prize (2017), and the Human Rights Tulip Prize awarded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2021).
