Please join us for a discussion of Erick Kabendera’s book, which details his experiences of kidnap, imprisonment and attempted assassination in his native Tanzania. In the Name of the President tells the story of a journalist living under a cruel autocratic regime, in a country that has struggled to become a democracy since it gained independence in 1961. It is a harrowing and powerful autobiographical account of a man who investigated government-sponsored violence and corruption under the leadership of President John Magufuli. What was the regime prepared to do to those who displeased the president? What was the Tanzanian government prepared to do to incapacitate its critics? How did the author and his family survive abduction, incarceration and efforts to murder him?

About the author

Erick Kabendera is a PhD Candidate with the African Leadership Centre and a member of the War Crimes Research Group at King's College London. In addition to his studies, Erick also works as a senior researcher and advisor for an international donor-funded cross-border counterterrorism project in Africa. Before joining King’s to complete an MA in the Department of War Studies, he worked as an investigative journalist and consultant on political and regional security, primarily focused on East and Central Africa. During this time, he covered conflicts and politics for The East African—one of the continent's leading newspapers — and contributed to the Economist Intelligence Unit, The Guardian, and The Times. His investigative work largely focused on illicit cross-border trade and terrorism. He has also used his expertise to advise the World Bank on political risk, and the International Crisis Group on cross-border counterterrorism, and has served as a Political Economy Analyst for the Department of International Development (DFID).

Event sponsored by the African Leadership Centre and the War Crimes Research Group, King’s College London.