LAGOS, Nigeria
The 7th Privacy Symposium Africa (PSA) 2025 kicked off yesterday at the Lagos Marriott Hotel Ikeja, attracting over 200 delegates from across the continent under the theme “Redefining Privacy, Power & Trust in Africa’s Digital Future.”
As data breaches and state surveillance escalate, the hybrid event has become a critical platform for shaping Africa’s data protection landscape — with Ugandan advocates taking center stage on Day One.
In her electrifying opening remarks, Ms Dorothy Mukasa, Executive Director of Unwanted Witness Uganda, fired up the room:
> “In a world where data is power, we must ask: who holds that power, and who is left vulnerable?”
She went on to remind delegates why gatherings like PSA matter:
> “Privacy is not just a right to be protected; it is a trust to be earned.”
Her words set an uncompromising tone for the day.
The symposium launched with a sold-out masterclass on Data Breach Management, led by cybersecurity experts including Olufela Osideko (Digital Encode), equipping data protection officers, regulators, and IT professionals with practical tools for prevention, detection, and incident response.
A keynote on the State of Data Privacy in Africa paved the way for Panel 1: Biometric Data & Digital ID Systems. Speakers, including Dr Eve Hayes de Kalaf, exposed the surveillance risks and exclusion traps baked into many national ID schemes, asking bluntly: Is convenience worth the erosion of privacy?
Panel 2 shifted focus to the private sector with “Data Protection as a Business Asset.”
Abisola Epoyun (Flutterwave) and others called on companies to ditch compliance theater: collect only necessary data, align policies with local laws (like Uganda’s Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019), train staff rigorously, and bake privacy-by-design into every product.
The afternoon’s Women in Privacy Meet-up, moderated by Lucianna Thuo and featuring Nadia Ishaq (IAPP board member), fostered mentorship and solidarity among Africa’s rising cohort of female privacy leaders.
Day One closed with a provocative Panel 3: “Would You Sign This? The Hidden Privacy Clauses We Ignore Daily.” Panellists Hanım Eken and Dr Sunday Oludare Ogunlana decoded the fine print in everyday Terms of Service, leaving delegates with the organizers’ parting shot:
“Next time you tap ‘I Agree’, are you actually paying attention?”
With Unwanted Witness and other Ugandan voices helping steer the continental agenda, PSA 2025 is proving that Africa is no longer waiting for global privacy standards — it is writing its own.
Day Two (today) features masterclasses on litigating privacy violations and panels on AI governance and cross-border data flows. Watchdog Uganda continues live coverage, tracking what these debates mean for East Africa’s digital future.
#PrivacySymposiumAfrica #DataProtection #PSALagos2025
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