African Legal Support Facility: Renowned Cameroonian banker, economist, lawyer, leaves after meritorious services.

Prince Diko Mukete leaves ASLF after rendering meritorious services to the institution. The native of Kumba and Prince of Bafaw who is former Director of Good Governance at the African Development Bank, AfDB, is leaving the prestigious institution after spending close to three years in office. 

Since the announcement of his departure and a banquet organised in his honour, his friends, family members and well-wishers have continued to pay tribute to the man who has dedicated his entire career as an international civil servant. 

One of such reactions is from celebrated legal icon and close friend of the Mukete family, Barrister Akere Muna, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Currently in Nairobi, Kenya and had the pleasure of witnessing a tribute to Barrister Diko Mukete, a highly regarded expert in Monetary Economics and an outstanding lawyer from Grays Inn London. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Central Bank of Rwanda and special advisor to the Minister of Finance of that country. Prior to that, he had an illustrious career with the African Development Bank Group, holding senior positions for almost two decades. The tribute celebrated his outstanding contribution to the ALSF, as he steps down from the board. An exceptional son of Cameroon, honored here in Nairobi...".

The same avalanche of messages have been pouring in from left to right on different social media platforms, detailing Prince Diko's exploit in the outside world. 

Reacting to the best wishes to his modest person, the Cambridge-trained lawyer said it will now give him enough time to concentrate on the other demanding portfolios he has in Rwanda and the rest of the world. 

Quizzed if he plans to return to Cameroon to contribute his quota in nation building, Diko quickly said: "Cameroon is close to my heart and I will always be willing ready to serve my country if called upon to do so…".

Prince Diko’s rich academic, career repertoire 

Prince Diko Mukete, is a former Director of Governance, Economic and Financial Reforms at the African Development Bank, AfDB. 

During his 25-year career at the AfDB, he held various positions, including the pioneer Head of the AfDB’s country office in Ghana, and Chief Country Economist in the West and North Africa regional departments. 

He was the AfDB’s Resident Representative in Rwanda, with responsibility for Burundi, from 2007 to 2011. In this position, he played an active role in the Rwanda Joint Governance Assessment, which was undertaken, jointly, by the 

Government of Rwanda and development partners. He chaired the Budget Support Donors Group and co-chaired the Budget Support Harmonization Group in 2008. 

Guided by his strong passion for Africa’s development, Diko Mukete worked on a wide range of development projects across the continent, ranging from institutional support to structural adjustment and government budget support operations. 

He also led several successful economic and financial policy dialogues with Governments across the continent, on deepening economic and financial reforms. 

Before joining the African Development Bank, he worked for the Cameroon National Investment Corporation (1982-1991) as a Principal Economist/Financial Analyst, and Division Manager in the Department of Operations. 

Prince Diko Mukete attended St. Joseph’s College, Sasse, Cameroon, and The King’s School, Canterbury, England. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics and Law from the London School of Economics (L.S.E) and Cambridge University (St. John’s College), respectively. 

He is a Barrister-at-Law of Gray’s Inn, London, and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, in 1981. He is also a member of the Cameroon Bar Association. 

He is currently an independent non-executive Director of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon and Chairperson of its Board of Governance Committee; Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Rwanda Finance Ltd, Kigali, Rwanda: and a former Member of the Management Board of the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He is also a Corporate Lawyer, and Economic and Financial Governance Consultant.

About African Legal support Facility ASLF

The ALSF was established in 2008, principally in response to challenges facing by African countries, especially Highly Indebted Poor Countries, HIPC, fragile states, and post-conflicts countries, in dealing with aggressive and intransigent creditors or vulture funds. 

The need for the Facility was originally proposed by African finance ministers in their board meeting at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, ECA, in June 2003. 

The goal of the Facility is to remove asymmetric technical capacities and level the field of legal expertise among parties to litigation and negotiations. The Facility provides legal advice and capacity building to African countries on vulture fund litigation, complex commercial negotiations and related sovereign transactions. Through all of its activities the Facility aims to build additional legal capacity on the African continent.