Prof. Abdalla S. Bujra (1938-2025) CODESRIA’S TOWERING PILLAR
The Council has learned of the passing on of Professor Abdalla Bujra this morning at his home in Malindi, Kenya, where he had been recuperating following a long illness.
Prof. Bujra served as the second Executive Secretary of CODESRIA from 1975-1985. Prior to this, he had worked alongside the founding Executive Secretary, Prof Samir Amin, roughly from the Council’s inception in 1973 before formally taking over leadership in 1975. The establishment of the institutional framework of CODESRIA as we know it today, and its emergence as a formidable organisation representing Africa and showcasing the best of its work in the social sciences, germinated and took root under his leadership.
During his tenure, he spearheaded and significantly contributed to over 50 academic conferences, seminars, and workshops across the continent; addressing critical themes such as industrialization, rural development, economic integration, technology, population, and democracy. He mobilized the African social science community by establishing both Pan-African and national research groups. Notably, he launched the renowned journal Africa Development which is set to publish its 50th Volume this year and oversaw the publication of numerous influential books and scholarly works. In 1992, he was honoured with the CODESRIA Distinguished African Social Scientist Award for Institution Building alongside other luminaries Govan Mbeki and Prof. Samir Amin. This accolade is a testament of the monumental impact of his leadership and his enduring contributions to African institutions.
By the time he left the service of CODESRIA in 1985, the image of CODESRIA as a Pan-African organisation that represented the best of Africa’s intellectual contributions in the social sciences and humanities had taken shape. By establishing this sound basis for institutional practices, Prof. Bujra and the colleagues he worked with ensured that African engagement with global discourses shifted away from the colonial pedigree they had largely been based upon to less racist and a more political economy driven orientation.
After his work at CODESRIA, Prof. Bujra played vital roles as a consultant for African institutions such as UNECA. He also founded the Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF), where he mentored emerging scholars, including Said Adejumobi, with whom he co-edited several publications. In addition, he lent his expertise to the Lamu Port campaign, advocating for the development of a regional transport corridor serving northern Kenya and South Sudan.
A distinguished sociologist, Prof. Bujra published extensively on governance and development in Africa. Among his notable works are The Politics of Stratification in a South Arabian Town (1971), Africa and the Future (1995), Leadership, Civil Society and Democratization in Eastern and Southern Africa (2002, two volumes), Perspectives on the OAU/AU and Conflict Management in Africa (2004), and Kenya’s Democratic Transition: The Struggle from Liberal to Social Democracy (2005).
For the CODESRIA community, we have lost a firm pillar around which our work was built, organised, executed and given historical legitimacy. His dedication, vision, and leadership continue to inspire us. The Council will do everything to memorialise him and keep the record of his work alive.
Prof. Bujra has been laid to rest today, Wednesday, 8th January 2025 in Malindi. While it is indeed a sad start of the year for the CODESRIA family with his passing, we are alive to the fact that he left us all the best wishes and a legacy that is dotted all over the CODESRIA publications especially he CODESRIA Bulletin and this remains alive in the work we do.
Godwin R. MURUNGA
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
8th January 2025
