Experts on countries of origin by country

Dr. Muhammad Kamaldeen Imam-Tamim is a distinguished legal scholar and educator specializing in the areas of family law, legal pluralism and intersection of law and religion. He has also done several research works bordering on issues of social justice. His Ph.D. thesis navigated these themes while exploring the strength of customary law and religious law over formal laws therefore making him work with locals with cultural and religious biases. He has also taught courses that espouses the principles revolving around these themes for decades at the University of Ilorin where he is currently an Associate Professor. He combines experiences as a Solicitor, Law Attorney and Academic Legal Researcher. In addition to his academic role, Dr. Imam-Tamim is actively involved in various professional organizations, including the Commission on Legal Pluralism and the Comparative Law Society of Nigeria. As an alumnus of the Harvard Law School Institute for Global Law and Policy, he brings a global perspective to his work, particularly in addressing complex socio-legal issues faced by communities, including those related to immigration and asylum support.

His expertise aligns with Communitology's mission to provide informed support for refugees and asylum seekers,… Read more

Akin Iwilade is currently Senior Lecturer (Associate professor) in African Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He holds a doctorate in International Development from the University of Oxford. His research has addressed various areas of politics and society in Africa, including cultural anthropologies of violence, regional security in West Africa, and the exploration of human rights, social services and everyday life in Africa more generally. His work is both empirically and conceptually grounded, with regular fieldwork conducted in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and Liberia. He is widely published and also serves as editor of leading journals in the field of African Studies, including Critical African Studies and Canadian Journal of African Studies.

Professor and Head of Research Group Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/S., Germany. 20 years of experience preparing expert reports concerning the issues mentioned under “Expertise: Areas of expertise”.

Dr. Muzong W. Kodi has more than 40 years of research, writing and lecturing on Africa as well as working and residing in several African countries. He has written more than 200 country expert reports for asylum seekers and other migrants from several African countries. He has also provided more than 100 authentication reports for official documents and several reports on nationality and adoption cases. As a consultant, he has been contracted by international organisations, regional African organisations, and multinational companies. He previously held senior management positions in Transparency International, Amnesty, International, and the African Centre for Monetary Studies. I also taught at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the University of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He holds a PhD in African History from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and speaks fluent French, English, Lingala, and Kikongo, as well as intermediary Swahili.

Occupation: International Consultant in governance, anti-corruption, human rights, as well as political and investment risks in Africa.

Countries of expertise: the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo (ROC or Congo-Brazzaville), Angola, Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Rwanda,… Read more

Academic and practicing attorney, based in USA (admitted to AZ bar), experienced in written and oral expert reports in variety of national formats, on many social groups and diverse matters in West Africa and Africa broadly.

Depending on issue/claim basis, I may be able to provide expertise on any country in West Africa. I have testified and provided expertise for cases from: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

I am an international practitioner working across Africa and the Middle East, supporting complex cross-border and regional matters. My work is grounded in practical experience, cultural awareness, and careful judgment in sensitive situations.

I am a French citizen of Cameroonian origin, shaped by dual Francophone and Anglophone cultural roots, within my African cultural heritage. I hold a master’s degree in mass communication and journalism alongside several postgraduate qualifications in audiovisual communication, corporate governance, and other studies in applied anthropology, and in economics.

 My academic training in journalism— particularly the theory of "Information and Evidence" — underpins my methodological approach as a country conditions expert witness, combining the rigour of investigative journalism with the independence and scepticism required to assess credibility and weigh sources at the standard demanded by courts and tribunals.

As a permanent press correspondent  based in the Geneva area since 1993 and accredited as a permanent press correspondent at UN Headquarters (1995–2005), I have built an extensive network across UN agencies (OHCHR, UNHCR, IOM, WHO, UNAIDS, and others) and I maintain direct contacts with journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and officials across Africa. 

I combine published documentary research with original interviews — both with asylum claimants and with in-country sources — to… Read more

After a PhD defended at EHESS (France) Xavier Moyet worked at IFRA as Scientific Director. Consequently, he worked for Universities of Toronto, Kent and Leeds, notably as a research associate and was involved in several significant projects. He is presently a consultant and collaborates for instance with the National Museum of Unity in Ibadan, or Tunde Odunlade Art Gallery. He is French, with a sound knowledge of Canadian and UK societies.

The Expert is a social anthropologist with special interest on Anthropology and ethnography in Africa.

Dr. Gospel Obele – Research and Development Economist with 11+ years of senior-level experience in economic strategy, market intelligence, and policy innovation.

Write over 25 articles, reports and publication, advising 50+ high-profile institutions with combined $850m in earnings, across 30+ sectors and 10+ countries.

Delivered 350+ expert media appearances (BBC, Al Jazeera, CGTN, Arise TV, Africa News) as a recognized voice on markets, economy, and social development.

Dr. Onuoha is a HIPAA Certified expert witness who has written several expert witness reports and opinions, and testified in immigration evaluation and immigration detention hearings over the years. His expertise spans asylum, human rights and human security claims, persecution and discrimination based on political associations (including party politics, social and environmental activism), religion, ethnicity, identity, customs and culture (gender-based persecution ranging from forced marriage, child marriage, polygamy and to FGM, among other gender-related cases), and self-determination cases of people fleeing violence and conflict from West African countries with similar dynamics.

As an African social anthropologist, he has taught and designed courses in American universities bordering on Female genital cutting, Gang-related violence, General country knowledge, LGBTQ+ issues, Political associations, Race/ethnicity, Religion, Trafficking, Violence against children, Violence against women. He has extensive experience on a variety of theorical, epistemological and practical cultural problems in African societies.

Academic and international development consultant with expertise around the cross-cutting themes of violence, extremism, anti-corruption, human rights, elections natural resources, poverty, community development, and risks.

Dr Imranali Panjwani has lived, studied and worked in the UK, Middle East, East-Africa and Australia as an academic, lawyer, chaplain and community worker. He has written 200+ country experts reports for asylum seekers under the instructions of UK and international law firms. His reports have been commented upon by judges and lawyers and draw upon his diverse legal, cultural and religious experiences.

For his access to justice work in immigration and asylum he received the national Spirit in the Community award at the GG2 Leadership & Diversity Awards in 2025 and Highly Commended Access to Justice award at the UK Diversity Legal Awards in 2021.

Dr. Rodney Reynolds is a Social and Medical Anthropologist with extensive academic, professional and field-based experience across Latin America and the Caribbean. He is fluent in Spanish and has lived and worked extensively within the region. His expertise focuses on the intersection of culture, health, social exclusion, vulnerability, and migration.

Experienced international trade and logistics expert specializing in infrastructure procurement, supply chain management, cross-border commercial operations, and strategic market development across emerging markets.

Her academic and professional qualifications include an undergraduate in Psychology (Academic year: 1997) and a postgraduate degree and training (Academic year: 1997-98 and 1999-2000) in Clinical Psychology; clinical work is diverse and covers assessment and therapy for adults and minority ethnic groups for various conditions. As a multilingual psychologist with multi-cultural experience, she can assess efficiently and provide culturally emotional sensitive service

Her employment history involves working as a psychologist:

She used to work with Nafas Drug Treatment Centre, Age Concern, Special People, Social Action for Health, The UK Centre for Counselling & Psychotherapy, London School of Psychology and Health, Flow Neuroscience and Centre for Psychological Health (She has prepared numerous well-referenced expert reports for UK institutions including the Family Court, Immigration Court, Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, and Land Registry. Her work integrates factual findings with comprehensive assessments and evidence-based analysis. She has prepared over 150 expert psychological and country reports, guided by a strong commitment to ethical and professional standards.

Professional Memberships and Affiliations:

She is… Read more

Dr Leo Zeilig is a writer and researcher who has published extensively on African politics and society for more than twenty-five years. He is an editor of the Review of African Political Economy (ROAPE) and has written a range of books, reports and articles for a variety of organisations and audiences.