Linda Kasonde is a lawyer and a civil rights activist. She is the Managing Partner of LCK Chambers and is also the Founder of Chapter One Foundation. She is also the current Executive Director of LCK Freedom Foundation. Linda was admitted to the Zambian Bar in 2001. She holds an LLB Law from the University of Leicester and an LLM from the University of Cape Town.

Prior to setting up LCK Chambers and Chapter One Foundation, Linda worked in one of the most well-recognised commercial law firms in Zambia for fifteen years earning the position of named Partner. Her current practice centres on general dispute resolution, human rights and Constitutional law advocacy and strategic and public interest litigation. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitration (MCIarb). She is the first woman to be elected as President of the Law Association of Zambia in the history of the Bar Association in Zambia. Linda has written a memoir called ‘Women, Resilience, and the Will to Lead’ about her experiences as a woman in leadership in Zambia between 2011-2021 trying to challenge creeping authoritarianism in Zambia. She is also the author of the 2025 book, ‘Thoughts on Democracy and Womanhood: An Anthology 2013 – 2025’.

Linda has undergone several leadership fellowships and programmes including the Stanford University Draper Hills Fellowship, the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship, the US State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP), the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office’s International Leaders Programme (ILP), and the Harvard University Leadership in the 21^st Century programme. Linda has received both local and international recognition for her leadership including as a 2017 recipient of the IE University’s Extraordinary People Inspiring the IE Community (EPIC) Award in the ‘Women Inspiring Women’ category. Iin April 2025. She received the President’s Leadership Excellence award from the Law Association of Zambia. In March 2025 she received the Excellence Award from the Zambia Association of Women Judges. In November 2022, she won the Zambian PUSH Women Award in the ‘Law’ category. In July 2022, she won the Women in Law in South Africa (WOZA) Awards – winner Best Pro bono/Human Rights/Social Justice Lawyer, 1^st runner up Pinnacle Award, 1^st runner up Best Leadership Award. In March 2022 she was listed on the Courtroom Mail’s Africa’s Influential Women in the Legal Profession list. In December 2016, the prestigious The Africa Report named her as one of the people to watch out for in 2017 in Southern Africa. Linda is a former Vice-President for Africa of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association. and formerly a member of the Advisory Board of the Africa Regional Forum and the Bar Issues Commission of the International Bar Association.

Katindo Mwale is the Managing Partner at K. MWALE AND COMPANY, a legal practitioner with 12 years of experience at the Zambian bar. During this time, Katindo has been actively involved in public interest litigation in Zambia’s superior courts, with a focus on promoting and protecting human rights. He has argued significant human rights cases, such as George Peter Mwanza v the Attorney General, Sylvester Katontoka and Another v The Attorney General, contributing to the advancement of human rights in Zambia.

Before establishing his own firm, Katindo served as the head of Litigation at the prominent Human Rights organization, the Legal Resources Foundation, a key influencer in the human rights space in Zambia. Katindo has handled various human rights issues, including cases related to Police Brutality, illegal detentions and deportations, deprivation of the right to life, and cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment and disability rights.

Katindo holds a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Zambia and a master’s degree in labour law from the University of Cape Town. Additionally, he is a part-time lecturer at the University of Zambia in the Graduate School of Business, where he teaches employment law at the postgraduate level.

Irene Banda (PhD) is an organisational strategist, an entrepreneur, a research scholar, an author and a financial services expert with a passion for transformative solutions. She has a corporate background in banking and microfinance with exposure in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. She served as Global Director for ECLOF International in Geneva; as Africa Regional Director for Opportunity International, USA; and as General Manager with Financial Sector Deepening Zambia

She holds a Doctorate (PhD) from Middlesex University, London, and a Master’s Degree from Leeds University UK.

She has served on various Boards in Zambia and across the globe.

Natasha Tikambenji Mutale is a development enthusiast passionate about driving positive change. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Development Studies from the University of Lusaka.
Ms. Mutale is an Executive Assistant at LCK Chambers and seconded to LCK Freedom Foundation, where she provides executive, administrative, and operational support to the Managing Partner and contributes to the firm’s Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice. In this role, she manages front office operations, coordinates executive schedules, organises meetings and events, handles correspondence, and provides administrative support to ensure the efficient functioning of the firm and the LCK Freedom Foundation.

Prior to joining LCK Chambers, Ms. Mutale worked as a Human Resource Intern at Zambian Breweries, where she supported recruitment processes, conducted candidate interviews, and assisted in the onboarding of new employees. Ms. Mutale also gained experience in client engagement and operations as a Community Associate Intern at AfricaWorks, where she supported the management of a professional co-working environment.

Through her professional experience across legal, corporate, and service environments, Ms. Mutale has developed strong organisational, administrative, and research skills, with particular experience in executive support, client relations, and business development support within professional services.

Mubanga Kasonde is an accomplished finance professional with over two decades of experience in the financial services sector. She has held senior positions at leading global institutions, including Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank, working across both African and European markets.

Throughout her career, Mubanga has advised on, structured, and brokered complex transactions in over 20 African countries, with expertise spanning agribusiness, commodities, technology, and mining sectors. Her deep understanding of cross-border finance and emerging markets has been instrumental in delivering impactful financial solutions.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Royal Holloway University of London.

Fr. Daniel Mwamba Mutale, SJ is the Executive Director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), a faith-based think tank based in Lusaka, Zambia. A Jesuit priest from Zambia, he holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Fordham University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Fordham University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Zambia. His research focuses on the relationship between financial development and economic growth in emerging and developing economies, with additional work on debt, inequality, tax justice, and the economic burden of non-communicable diseases.

Fr. Mutale serves in several leadership and governance roles. He is Chair of the Zambia Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Debt Alliance and a Board Member of the Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG), a faith-based initiative working to safeguard the integrity of elections in Zambia. He is also a Steering Committee Board Member of Enabling Access to Justice, Civil Society Participation and Transparency (EnACT), a project in Zambia commissioned by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-funded by the European Union. In addition, he serves as a Board Member of the Sustainable Futures – Biogas Value Chain for Circular Economy Competence Growth in Zambia (SF-BioVac) project. The project is a collaboration between Novia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), the University of Oulu (Finland), the University of Zambia, the Copperbelt University, and the Rural Electrification Authority as an industrial partner.
Fr. Mutale was recently appointed Africa Coordinator of the Agro-ecology & Food Systems Working Group of the Global Ignatian Advocacy Network, to provide leadership for networks, and amplify voices from the margins, while promoting sustainable responses to ecological challenges that threaten food systems and security.
Apart from lecturing economics, mathematics and statistics at Fordham University, Fr. Mutale has presented widely on issues related to development, globalization, aid, and migration at various institutions: Fordham University, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), the NIDOS Conference in Edinburgh, Multimedia University of Kenya, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Hekima College), and the University of Pretoria.

Beyond academia and leadership, Fr. Mutale has served as an associate pastor in low-income communities in Zambia, including Matero and Bwacha, bringing pastoral experience and grassroots perspectives to his work on economic justice and development.