Dr. Musa Kika is the Executive Director of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa. A constitutional and human rights lawyer, he brings extensive experience in human rights advocacy and litigation, international development, and organizational management at regional and international levels. Dr. Kika previously served as Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum and as Director of External Relations and Head of Office (HQ) for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) based in Barcelona, Spain.

Previous experience include with the Justice for Children, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, and the University of Cape Town’s Democratic Governance and Rights Unit.

He has also served multiple courts and judges including at the Supreme Court of Namibia, Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa, High Court of Botswana, and the UN’s Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone. He is a member of the Law Society of Zimbabwe and the Pan-African Lawyers Union.

A published academic author in human rights, constitutional law, and administrative law with various book chapters, journal articles and over 65 op-eds, Dr. Kika has also supported multiple important initiatives including the development of the Lilongwe Principles and Guidelines on the Selection and Appointment of Judicial Officers, adopted in 2018 by the Southern and Eastern African Chief Justices Forum, the SADC Model Law on Elections adopted by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum in 2018, and the Constitution Hill Global Guidelines on Apex Court Appointments adopted in 2024.

He is recognized for his leadership, including as a Harvard Law School Kaufman Public Service Fellow, Ford Global Fellow, and a Mandela Rhodes Scholar.

He holds a PhD in Public Law (University of Cape Town), an LLM (Harvard Law School), and a LLB summa cum laude (University of KwaZulu-Natal).