On Tuesday 10 December, International Human Rights Day, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (the Centre) held its annual graduation ceremony. In 2024, the Centre celebrates significant milestones for two of its academic programmes: the Master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) and the Master’s in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA). This year marks 25 years of teaching and successful completion of 25 cohorts of HRDA students, while the SRRA marks 10 years since its inception.
The formal graduation ceremony was chaired by former Constitutional Court Judge, Justice Sisi Khampepe, the Chancellor of the University of Pretoria. She oversaw the graduation of forty students from three academic programmes of the Centre, and seven doctoral students, five of whom graduated with theses related to human rights.
The formal graduation ceremony was followed by an awards ceremony in which welcoming remarks were given by the Dean of the Law Faculty, Prof Elsabe Schoeman, and by Prof Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, the outgoing Chairperson of the HRDA Council of Directors. The Council of Directors, the HRDA’s highest decision-making body, consists of the country directors based at the 12 partner institutions. The Dean also awarded the annual Dean’s Essay prize as follows:
Left to right: Second prize: Zekhethelo Cele, Third prize: Cedric Kadima, Professor Schoeman, First prize: Ntandoyenkosi Moyo
Remarks were also made by representatives of the donor community, with special mention of Rosanela Selebi representing the European Union Delegation to South Africa (EU) and Hon. Mr Håkan Juholt, Ambassador of Sweden to South Africa. Thereafter, Kansiime Mukama Taremwa, Ngozichukwu Chukwuma, and Marna Dunkle-Kock gave their reflections on behalf of the cohorts in the HRDA, SRRA and Masters in Multidisciplinary Human Rights (MDHR), respectively. Several awards were made at the event, including the prestigious Vera Chirwa Prize, and various student awards.
Vera Chirwa Award
Professor Nkatha Murungi, Acting Director of the Centre for Human Rights introduced the Vera Chirwa Awardee. The annual Vera Chirwa Award was instituted for the HRDA graduate who best embodies the principles of the programme in their subsequent career by “making a difference” to the protection of human rights or the strengthening of democratisation in Africa. Vera Mlangazua Chirwa is a Malawian-born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. The Vera Chirwa Award was instituted in recognition of her personal sacrifice and contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in Africa.
This year, the Vera Chirwa Award goes to Ms Lindiwe Khumalo, the current Clerk of the Pan-African Parliament and previous acting Executive Secretary of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in recognition of her professional contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in Africa through institutional and policy initiatives within the African Union and in South Africa. Ms Khumalo encouraged graduates not to spurn humble beginnings, reminding them that sometimes one must take two steps backward in order to take ten steps forward. She illustrated this remark with reference to her own journey, which saw her leaving a career of over twenty years in legal practice to start the HRDA, and thereafter to join the African Commission as an intern. She also reflected on Prof Frans Viljoen’s words to their cohort in 2010, ‘Go and do your best! Make yourself indispensable’.
Left to right: Ms Lindiwe Khumalo and Prof Nkatha Murungi
Academic Prizes
Prof Magnus Killander announced the academic prizes, which were largely based on HRDA students’ academic performance. The following student prizes were awarded:




Post-Masters Internships
Lloyd Kuveya announced the awards for the students who have been selected after a rigorous selection process to conduct post-Masters internships as professional assistants at the following African Union human rights bodies:
Left to right (Lloyd Kuveya, Prof Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua (University of Ghana, and outgoing Chair of the HRDA council of Directors), Zororai Nkomo, Nicholas Kipkoech Cheruiyot, Merveille Mugisha, Oluwatosin Adegun, Prof Nkatha Murungi
- African Commission on Human and People’s Rights - Merveille Mugisha
- African Court on Human and People’s Rights - Nicholas Cheruiyot Kipkoech
- African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child - Zororai Nkomo
Doctoral scholarships
He also announced the students awarded with (fully funded three-year) doctoral scholarships; these candidates will simultaneously serve as tutors in the HRDA programme:
The following students graduated with distinction:
Prof Nkatha Murungi, acting Director of the Centre, gave the closing remarks.
The Centre acknowledges the financial support of its global and regional partners, including the European Union, through the Global Campus of Human Rights, and the Swedish Development Corporation.
The HRDA programme director, Frans Viljoen, remarked: “This 25-year landmark is only possible because of the cherished support of our university partners across the continent, dedicated Centre staff, and our consistent donors. Thank you! The greatest achievement over the 25 years is the distinctively transformative impact of its graduates on the African human rights landscape. You do us proud!”
For more information, please contact:
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 6703
michelle.maziwisa@up.ac.za
Centre for Human Rights
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3228
frans.viljoen@up.ac.za