Meet Our Team
WACCE is led and managed by a competent team of diverse professionals with expertise in various of leadership and management.
Mutaru Muqthar Mumuni, Executive Director
Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar is the Founder and Executive Director for West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE). Muqthar has been instrumental in leading and positioning WACCE as pioneer and leader in the PVE space in Ghana and West Africa. In the last 10 years, he has led the WACCE team to dissuade 23 radicalized individuals from travelling to join terrorist groups. His innovative and nuanced strategies have helped to deepen local understanding around radicalization and violent extremism empowering more than 9,600 youth, state and non-state actors in building resilience against violent extremism in the region. Starting as a youth in a career dominated by older state actors, he has brought not only verve and oomph to the PCVE space but also innovative and nuanced perspectives in shaping better understanding of the VE threat in the region.
Muqthar has held various positions leading many projects in various countries. These include as Business and Research Manager at RDFC Africa in Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria, and UK from 2008 to 2011. During the period of 2022-2023, he served as Ghana Country Coordinator for the US organization, International Republican Institute (IRI). Mutaru brings to WACCE a proficient understanding of violent extremism, counter terrorism, organizational development and people management. In the last 10 years, Muqthar’s decisive leadership has been instrumental in driving strategic planning, progamming, fundraising, and stakeholder relationships including highly valuable partnerships towards achievement of WACCE’s mission and goals.
Muqthar also serves as conference speaker and guest lecturer to several institutions in Ghana and abroad. He is an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Scholar of the Aspen Institute (USA). Most recently, Muqthar became an alumni of the Emerging Security Sector Leaders program by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, Washington DC. Among several other awards and commendations, Mutaru is a recipient of the African of the Year Award (2018), the youngest recipient at the time, for his impactful works in preventing violent extremism in Africa. Previous recipients have been former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki and former President of the Africa Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka.
Mutaru studied for a Master of Arts (MA, Hons) degree in International Terrorism, Global Crime and International Security from Coventry University, UK, including understudying anti-mafia prosecutors in Sicily, Italy. Mutaru also undertake executive level courses in security and leadership at the National Defense University (USA) and the State University of New Jersey (Rutgers, USA). Prior to this, he earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Business Administration with a liberal Arts curriculum from Ashesi University, Ghana.
Philipmon Agyapong, Finance and Administration
Priscilla Mawusi Joppa, Programs Officer
Dr. Sadiq Adu-Twum, Research Director
Ibrahim Nashiru, Senior Programs Officer
Elizabeth-Joan Quansah, Program Associate
Elizabeth-Joan is the Program Associate and currently assists with research, planning, and execution of program activities at WACCE. She has a Master’s Degree in International Relations (Specialist) from Aberystwyth University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish (First Class Honours) from the University of Ghana. Elizabeth-Joan is multilingual in English, Spanish and French with a Diploma in Spanish Language Studies (DELE C1) and Diploma in French Language Studies (DELF B2).
She joined the WACCE team in July 2024.