The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria wishes to inform its partners and stakeholders that Prof Ebenezer Durojaye has been appointed as Acting Director from 1 April to 31 August 2025, pending recruitment of a substantive director. This appointment follows the end of the contract for Professor Nkatha Murungi who served as Acting Director with distinction from September 2023 to February 2025.
Under the leadership of Professor Nkatha Murungi the Centre graduated a significant number of doctoral candidates and LLM students. The Centre increased its strategic litigation portfolio at the domestic and regional levels and made considerable progress in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society in the face of the anti-rights movement. Notably, the Centre further received support from development partners to promote sexual and reproductive health rights in Africa and strengthen the African human rights system through teaching, research, training and advocacy.
Professor Ebenezer Durojaye is a professor in the Centre for Human Rights. He is a respected academic and internationally acclaimed scholar. His research areas are in international human rights law, socio-economic rights, including the rights to health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, constitutionalism and gender equality, the impact of culture on women’s rights, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the socio-economic rights of refugees and asylum seekers. From 2012-2014, Professor Durojaye provided technical support to the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, during which time he was involved in the drafting of the UN Guiding Principles on extreme poverty and human rights adopted in September 2012 by the Human Rights Council. Between 2010-2020 he served as one of the independent experts of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ Committee on the Protection of the Rights of People Living with HIV and those at Risk, Vulnerable to and Affected by HIV in Africa. Professor Durojaye contributed to the development of critical soft law instruments, including the drafting of resolutions and general comments in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights. He has held fellowships in Canada and the United States.
Before joining the Centre in 2024, Prof Durojaye led the Socio-Economic Rights Project of the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape for more than a decade. He has immense experience in leadership and further brings to the Centre his expertise in project management, advocacy and managing donor funds with integrity and efficiency. The Centre is confident that Professor Durojaye is appropriately qualified to provide excellent leadership and we wish him all the best as he provides strategic guidance to the current management team and program officers. Professor Durojaye is assured of the support of all staff as the Centre pursues is vision of an African continent in which everyone enjoys their human rights.
