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Lassané Ouedraogo | Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso
LLB in Public Law (Université Nazi Boni, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso); LLM in International Public Law (Université Thomas SANKARA, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso)
Lassané Ouedraogo is the Acting Coordinator of the LLM in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA) at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. He is also pursuing an LLD at the university’s Faculty of Law, under the NRF SARChI Chair for International Constitutional Law. Lassané holds an LLB from the Université Nazi Boni and an LLM in International Public Law from the Université Thomas Sankara, both in Burkina Faso. He also earned an LLM in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa from the University of Pretoria. His academic and professional interests include International Public Law, International Environmental Law, Trade and Investment, and Business and Human Rights. Professors Magnus Kilander and Sâ Benjamin Traoré supervise his doctoral research. It focuses on examining the climate change responsibilities of transnational corporations.
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 5296
lassane.ouedraogo@up.ac.za
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Nomusa Nkwanyana
MA (International Relations) / MA (IR) – University of Witwatersrand
Nomusa Nkwanyana is a Programme Associate within the Democracy and Civic Engagement Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. In this role, she contributes to strengthening democratic participation, civic engagement, and constitutional literacy across Africa, with a focus on enhancing the participation of civil society and citizens in key continental governance mechanisms, such as the Pan-African Parliament and the African Peer Review Mechanism.
Nomusa holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand. Her professional experience spans academia, trade unions, research, policy-making, and advocacy, with a strong track record of working in sectors including energy, agriculture, informal economies, and labour rights. She has collaborated with leading consultancy firms both locally and globally, focusing on social impact, community needs assessments, and strategies for advancing human rights and labour protections.
Her work is underpinned by a deep commitment to justice, equity, feminism, and the decolonial project. She is particularly passionate about amplifying the voices of women, young people, and marginalized communities within governance structures and policy-making spaces. Across her engagements in South Africa and the broader Southern African region, Nomusa has contributed to initiatives that promote inclusive development, worker rights, and meaningful civic participation.
Nomusa brings to her work a nuanced understanding of the intersections between governance, social justice, and economic development in Africa, as well as a dedication to fostering participatory and accountable institutions rooted in the lived realities of the continent’s people.
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Palesa Mogosetso | Junior Project Officer, Children’s Rights Unit
BA LAW(UP), LLB (UP)
Palesa Mogosetso is a dedicated legal professional with a passion for human rights, particularly the rights of women and children. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Criminology (BA Law) and an LLB degree from the University of Pretoria. She is currently pursuing a Master of Laws (LLM) in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights.
Palesa serves as a Junior Project Officer within the Centre’s Children’s Rights Unit, where she contributes to advancing the rights and welfare of children across the continent. Her academic background and practical experience have shaped her commitment to using the law as a tool for social justice, focusing on issues such as child protection, gender equality, and access to sexual and reproductive health rights.
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Angelene Michielsen works as an Intern in the Women’s Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights. She completed her BA Law degree in 2021, her LLB degree in 2023 and is currently pursuing an LLM in Human Rights. She also work part‑time in the litigation team at a law firm.
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Yolokazi Mfuto
BA (UFH), BSocSci Honours - Political Science (UFH), LLM (UP Candidate)
Yolokazi Mfuto development practitioner and a political commentator with a focus on struggle against socio-economic, political and health challenges in Africa.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication, History and Political Sciences, an honours degree in Political Sciences and International Relations both from the University of Fort Hare. She also has a certificate in Project Management and currently pursuing Master in Multidisciplinary Human Rights at the University of Pretoria.
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LLM (UP), LLD candidate
Belinda Matore is an LLD candidate and a child rights and digital governance expert. Her doctoral research focuses on safeguarding children from online harm through platform regulation within the South African legal framework, with reference to international and regional human rights standards. In line with her research, she contributes to discussions on digital safety, children’s rights, and technology policy across Africa. Professionally, she engages in legal research, advocacy, and advisory work relating to child protection, online safety, and digital regulation. She also collaborates with regional and international stakeholders to promote child-centred, rights-based approaches to internet governance and law reform in Africa.
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4199
br.matore@up.ac.za
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LLB (UP)
Mmanoko Mokgaetsi Masipa is a Junior Project Administrator at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria in the Children’s Rights Unit. She holds a LLB from the University of Pretoria (2024). Her academic research interests span over critical areas of children’s rights and justice. Through her interests she is committed to promoting stronger legal protections for children.
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LLB (UFH), LLM Candidate (UP)
Christabel Nyasha Mahofa is a dedicated legal professional and an Intern at the Women’s Rights Unit, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Fort Hare and is currently pursuing a Master of Laws in Multidisciplinary Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. She has experience in legal research, supporting attorneys with legal research, document drafting, consultations, compliance management and academic support. Mahofa’s research interests focus on women’s rights and socio-economic rights in Africa. She is passionate about understanding how laws and policies can better protect women and help them access opportunities in the society. Christabel is passionate about advancing sexual and reproductive rights for women, focusing on access to health services and informed choices. She is also committed to promoting the implementation of the Maputo Protocol to strengthen legal protections for women’s rights in Africa.
Tel +27742102300
christabel.mahofa@up.ac.za
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BDS, LLB (Makerere University); LLM (University of Kwazulu Natal); ITP, SRHR (Lund University); LLD Candidate (UP)
Aruho Amon is a Dentist and an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda with specialised knowledge in Medical Law and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights .
He is a Doctoral Researcher / Tutor in the SRRA Unit.
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 6209
Amon.aruho@up.ac.za
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LLB LLM (Nelson Mandela University)
molya.vundamina@up.ac.za
Molya Vundamina is a Project Officer and Doctoral candidate in Public Law at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on the barriers to the ratification of the African Union Free Movement Protocol, with particular attention to the concerns of African states.
She holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Public Law from Nelson Mandela University, where she was recognised as the top LLM research graduate, and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the same institution. Molya has published on refugee protection, migration, and climate change, and serves on the Steering Committee of the ICON•S Interest Group on Climate Change and Migration. Her professional interests include migration governance, regional integration, human rights advocacy, and access to justice.
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Bachelor of Commerce in Law (PIHE), LLB(UP), LLM (UP)
Ms Rutendo Mugabe is a Ddoctoral candidate, researcher and project officer at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights’ Business and Human Rights Unit and the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA).
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Sidney is an LLM candidate in International Law at the Graduate Institute Geneva. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from Kenyatta University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Advocates Training from the Kenya School of Law. Before joining the Graduate Institute, he worked as a Trainee Lawyer at Anjarwalla & Khanna – ALN Kenya and previously volunteered as an Editorial Intern at Kabarak University Law School. Sidney is the Lead Editor (East Africa) at the Afronomicslaw Academic Forum.
Sidney, alongside Martin, won the 30th Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in 2021 and was the 1st Runner-Up in the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition in 2020. His primary focus is Public International Law, with a particular interest in International Dispute Settlement.
LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | sidney.tambasi@up.ac.za
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Martin Kioko Munyoto is a Trainee Lawyer at Anjarwalla & Khanna – ALN Kenya. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from Kenyatta University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Advocates Training from the Kenya School of Law.
Martin is also a Graduate Research Assistant at Strathmore Law School and advises the administrative team at the Pro Bono Institute of Kenya (PBIK) through the Strathmore Law Clinic.
Teaming up with Sidney, Martin won the 30th Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition in 2021 and was the 1st Runner-Up in the 12th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition in 2020. Since then, he has judged, coached teams for, and assisted in organizing both moot competitions. His interests include Public International Law, with a particular focus on International Human Rights Law, Regional Integration, and Artificial Intelligence.
LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | martin.munyoto@up.ac.za
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LLM (UCT), LLD Candidate
Tendai Shephard Mbanje is an LLD candidate and an election and governance expert. His research focuses on electoral processes within the African Union (AU) and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). In line with his research, on behalf of the University of Pretoria, he regularly provides expert opinions on electoral and governance issues on international media platforms (including television). Professionally, he regularly serves in various election missions, including the European Union(EUEOMs), the African Union Election Observer Missions (AUEOMs), and the African Centre for Governance Election Observation Missions (ACGEOMs) across the continent.
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4199
mbanje.tendai@up.ac.za
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Doctoral Candidate, Tutor, LLM/MPhil Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa Programme
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Yumba Bernadette Kakhobwe is a doctoral researcher in the Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA) programme. She is the co-editor of the Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA) Digest and tutor for the MPhil/LLM SRRA programme. She is an alumna of the same programme, and also holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Ms Kakhobwe has an interest in gender-based violence, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, child marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting using human rights and decolonial feminist approaches.
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Mansah Amoah is a researcher, project coordinator, and doctoral candidate at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights. She holds an LLB in Law with distinction and a master’s degree in Multidisciplinary Human Rights from the same university. Her academic interests include South Africa’s foreign policy, international law, private law, and human rights, with a particular emphasis on socio-economic rights. Her doctoral research focuses on irregular migration in Southern Africa, exploring issues such as border control, smuggling, the securitisation of migration, and the legal frameworks governing these areas. Furthermore, Mansah has a keen interest in the impact of climate change on forced displacement in Southern Africa.
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Sheryl Kunaka is a Waging Justice for Women Fellow, working at the Centre for Human Rights. She is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, reading for a PhD in International Refugee Law with the University of Cape Town. She has an LLB, LLM (Human Rights Law) (Cape Town), and an MSc (Refugee and Forced Migration Studies) (Oxford)
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LLB (UWC), LLM (UWC), LLD (UWC)
Post Doctoral Fellow
Dr Sindiso Nozitha Nkomo is a Post Doctoral Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria under the Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa Programme. Dr Nkomo holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree, Master of Laws Degree (International Protection of Human Rights Law) and a Doctor of Laws Degree (Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights). All her degrees were attained from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Her areas of expertise include sexual and reproductive health and rights, women’s rights, Indigenous Peoples rights, International Protection of Human Rights Law and Civil Society Law in Africa. She has over eight years work experience in the field of human rights.
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LLB (AAU), LLM (UP)
Doctoral candidate
Merga Dibaba has been working for the last eight years in the area of promotion and protection of human rights, particularly disability rights, and children’s rights with different regional and national human rights organisations. He has worked with the African Committee of experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and Ethiopian Ministry of Justice. He holds LLM in human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria and LLB from Addis Ababa University. Currently Merga is undertaking doctoral study at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria where he is also working as a program coordinator.
Publication:
MY Dibaba ‘The implications of article 12 of the Convention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities for the legal capacity of persons with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities in Ethiopia’ (2019) 7 African Disability Rights Yearbook 3-34
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Dr Dorcas Basimanyane is an accomplished international development lawyer with over a decade of experience. She is an admitted attorney, conveyancer, and notary public, with expertise spanning law, practice, academia, and project management.
She currently serves as the Project Manager of the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability (ACCA) and heads the Business and Human Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. In addition, she is the Academic Project Coordinator for the International Trade and Investment Law (TILA) programme and a Post-Doctoral Researcher with the Centre’s International Development Law Unit (IDLU).
Her professional and research interests lie at the intersection of technology law, development, and human rights, with a strong focus on corporate accountability, sustainable development, trade and investment and rights-based approaches to governance.
Tel +27 (0)12 420 6209
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Ruth Versfeld, BA Law (UP)
Ruth has been a Project Officer/ Litigation Assistant with the Litigation and Implementation Unit at the Centre for Human Rights since March 2023. Ruth started learning about legal human rights issues through the Christoff Heyns Moot competition where her team placed in the top 10. She has also been a part of the executive for Tuks for Climate Justice that helps to educate students about climate justice and promote climate justice projects in and around the University of Pretoria. Ruth has a keen interest in several fields of human rights and is particularly passionate about issues relating to climate justice. Ruth is currently also an LLB student at the University of Pretoria.
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3151
Ruth.Versfeld@up.ac.za
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Tholoana Mosia | Free State, South Africa
LLB (cum laude), University of the Free State, South Africa
Previous experience
Intern at the Centre for Human Rights
Academic fields of interest:
- Constitutional law
- Administrative law
- Human rights
- Socio-economic rights (specifically)
Position prior to the programme
Intern at the Centre for Human Rights (2022-present)
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Fellow: Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa
Academic Coordinator: RefLex Center for Advanced Studies, Humboldt University Berlin
PhD, LLM (German University of Administrative Sciences, MSc (London School of Economics and Political Science), First and Second State Examinations in Law (Munich and Berlin)
ORCID
johannes.socher@hu-berlin.de
Expertise:Comparative Constitutional Law, Public International Law, Transitional Justice, Rule of Law, Criminal Justice, European Law and German Public Law.
Links
- Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?authuser=1&user=H4IC3gEAAAAJ
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-socher
- BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/jsocher.bsky.social
Select Publications:
Books
- Constitutionalisation of Political Parties and the State of Democracy, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2025 (co-edited with Charles Fombad), https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748963165.
- Russia and the Right to Self-Determination in the Post-Soviet Space, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192897176.001.0001.
- Praxis der Richtlinienumsetzung im Europäischen Verwaltungsverbund, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2020 (co-edited with Cristina Fraenkel-Haeberle and Karl-Peter Sommermann), https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-58029-3.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
- Constitutionalisation of Political Parties, Multipartyism and Political Opposition in Anglophone Eastern Africa, World Comparative Law 57 (2024) 560–577, https://doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2024-4-560.
- Symbolic Popular Participation in Constitution-Making in Francophone Africa, African Journal of International and Comparative Law 32 (2024) 558–574 (with Charles Fombad), https://doi.org/10.3366/ajicl.2024.0505.
- African Truth Commissions Addressing Colonial Legacies, in Pilisano Masake and Florian Jeßberger (eds), International Criminal Law and the Legacy of Colonialism: An African Perspective, Berlin: Humboldt University (2024) 105–124, https://doi.org/10.18452/31458.
- Assistance to Constitutional Courts in Fragile Contexts: The Case of Mali, 2017–2022, World Comparative Law 56 (2023) 241–256, https://doi.org/10.5771/0506-7286-2023-1-241.
- Enhancing Access to Justice through Donor-Led Legal Aid Initiatives: International Normative Framework, Practical Approaches, and Some Findings from the Field, Law and Development Review 15 (2022) 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2021-0144.
- Farewell to the European Constitutional Tradition: The 2020 Russian Constitutional Amendments, Heidelberg Journal of International Law 80 (2020) 615–648, https://www.zaoerv.de/80_2020/80_2020_3_a_615_648.pdf.
- Lenin, (Just) Wars of National Liberation, and the Soviet Doctrine on the Use of Force, Journal of the History of International Law 19 (2017) 219–245, https://doi.org/10.1163/15718050-19231018.
Blog Posts
- Voting from Abroad Ahead of Germany’s 2025 Snap Election: Practical Challenges and Legal Implications of Non-Resident Voting from a Comparative Perspective, Verfassungsblog, 6 February 2025, https://verfassungsblog.de/ahead-of-germanys-2025-snap-election (with Raphaël Girard).
- Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself: On the Continuing Relevance of Analysing Russian Approaches to International Law, Völkerrechtsblog, 13 June 2024, https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/de/know-your-enemy-and-know-yourself/
- Farewell to the European Constitutional Tradition: The 2020 Russian Constitutional Amendments, Verfassungsblog, 2 July 2020, https://verfassungsblog.de/farewell-to-the-european-constitutional-tradition.
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Ntandoyenkosi Moyo | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
LLB Bachelor of Laws Honours Degree. Midlands State University, Zimbabwe
Previous experience
I have been a Lecturer in the Public Law Department at the Faculty of Law at Midlands State University, Lecturing International Humanitarian Law for two years. Also I have been both a motivational leadership speaker and moot court coach in Zimbabwe and at the University. I have one year experience as a practicing attorney in private practice in Zimbabwe, specializing in civil and criminal law litigation.
Academic fields of interest:
Public International Law, in particular International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law.
Position prior to the programme
Public Law Lecturer at Midlands State University and a Practicing Attorney in private practice.
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(LLB) University of Khartoum, (LLM) Trinity College, Dublin
Razan Ali is a doctoral candidate and the Alumni Coordinator at the Centre for Human Rights within the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria. She holds a law degree from the University of Khartoum, Sudan, as well as two Master of Laws (LLM) degrees: one in International and European Business Law from Trinity College Dublin, and another in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria. Razan has practical experience working in Sudan with the Norwegian Refugee Council and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Her academic and professional interests encompass Business and Human Rights, Trade and Investment, International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Conflict mitigation, and peace and Security issues.
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4397
Razan.ali@up.ac.za
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LLB (UNIVEN), LLM (UNIVEN)
Mhuru Tapiwa Agripa acquired his LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Venda (UNIVEN). He is currently in pursuit of an LLD. He has passion for human rights advocacy through mooting activities and is also interested in the field of International criminal law; Elections and Good Governance.
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Lawyer and University Lecturer, Eduardo Mondlane University
PhD candidate in Human Rights at the University of Ghent (Belgium) in the area of Women's Human Rights and Labour Relations (African perspective). She has a master’s in international Trade Law from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa (2003).
She is Director of the Human Rights Programme/master’s degree in human Rights (Faculty of Law, Eduardo Mondlane University). She is a researcher with an interest in human rights in Africa, in particular women's rights, human rights and business, the right to health, access to information and the rights of people with disabilities.
She is currently a member of the National Bioethics Committee for Health (CNBSMozambique). She was Vice-President of the National Council of the Mozambican Bar Association (2020-2023).
She is a member of the African Universities Network of the Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa Programme (HRDA) in partnership with the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) since 2021. She is a member of ALDIS - Lusophone Association of Health Law (Coimbra). Since 2016, she has collaborated with the Ius Gentium Conimbrigae (IGC) - Human Rights Centre, University of Coimbra in the Postgraduate Programme in Human Rights and since 2021 with POSCOHR - Observatory of Human Rights (Portuguese Speaking Countries Observatory of Human Rights) in the Postgraduate Programme in Human Rights, Health and Justice.
She is the coordinator (Organizer) of the Human Rights Journal published by the Human Rights Centre at UEM. She is also a member of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN) formerly known as AIPN and was recently appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the Human Rights Centre of the Faculty of Law (University of Pretoria), South Africa.
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Senior lecturer
LLD LLM (UNISA) LLM (UP) LLB (Cum laude)(Stadio) BProc (Wits) MBA (Regenesys) PhD Business Admin) Candidate (NWU)
Biography
Dr Ngobeni manages the International Development Law Unit (IDLU), which hosts the LLM Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA). Dr Ngobeni is on the editorial board of the South African Yearbook of International Law (SAYIL) and was on board of Tydskrif vir Hedendaagse Romeins-Hollandse Reg /Journal of Contemporary Roman-Dutch Law (THRHR). Previously, he was a junior editor at the Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal.
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Post-Doctoral Fellow and Administrator; Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI)
B.Sc (Hons) Political Science, University of Lagos; B.SocSci (Hons) Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Cape Town; MA Political Science, University of Pretoria; Ph.D. Political Science, University of Pretoria
Biography
Dr. Zainab Monisola Olaitan is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Litigation and Implementation unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. She is also the administrator of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) Secretariat hosted at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. Zainab recently completed her PhD degree in Political Science looking at the impact of gender quotas on the substantive representation of women in African politics. Her doctoral thesis interrogated the assumption that women’s increased participation in politics improves the life of women substantively. She obtained her first degree in Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Political Science with First class from the University of Lagos. Zainab completed her second degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics Honors at the University of Cape Town as a 2018 Mandela Rhodes Scholar. In 2019, she was selected for the Mastercard foundation scholarship to study for a Masters in Political Science at the University of Pretoria. Her master’s dissertation was on women’s participation in peacebuilding in West Africa, using Sierra Leone as a case study. In 2022, she was awarded the Margaret McNamara Education Grant for her impactful research work on women and children. Zainab is an avid researcher with published articles in journals, book projects, policy briefs across different themes on political thought, gender and representation, conflict and peace studies, African politics and African Indigenous Knowledge System (AIKS).
Publications
Olaitan, Z.M. 2023. Gender Participation and Agricultural Development Projects in Nigeria. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development, 12 (3): 31-51.
Olaitan, Z.M. 2023. Feminist Rethinking of the Representation of African Women in Peacebuilding: A Theoretical Analysis. African Journal of Gender, Society and Development, 12 (1): 185-207. https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.31920/2634-3622/2023/v12n1a9
Olaitan, Z.M. 2022. A Modern History of Statelessness and the Socio-Political Question. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2023.2159703
Olaitan, Z.M. 2022. Enlightenment Ideas and Colonialism. In Africa’s Radicalisms and Conservatisms edited by E. Etieyibo, Vol (2) Brill Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004523586_019
Isike, E., Olaitan, Z.M., and Isike C.A. 2022. Cyberspace Xenophobia in South Africa. In Conflict and Concord edited by C. Isike and E. Isike, Palgrave Macmillan, 85-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1033-3_5
Olaitan, Z.M. 2022. Review of Secular Power Europe and Islam by Sarah Wolff. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 34 (6). https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2022.2035090
Olaitan, Z.M., & Isike, C.A. 2019. The Role of the African Union in Fostering Women’s Representation in Formal Peacebuilding; A case study of Sierra Leone. Journal of African Union Studies, 8(2). https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-18309d845d
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Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4199
u18020322@tuks.co.za
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Project Officer: Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit, HRDA Tutor and PhD Candidate
Tel: +27 (0) 713362225
henok.kremte@up.ac.za
ORCID
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Table of content
Background and context
Who we are
Vision and mission
Centre values
Review of Strategic Plan 2017–2020
SWOT analysis
Key cross-cutting imperatives for the Centre’s work
The Centre’s thematic priorities
Critically reconsider operational priorities
Consolidate, innovate and improve methods of work
Consolidate and expand partnerships
Resources
Implementation and monitoring
Risk assessment
Implementation plan
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Shyreen Odala Chirwa
LLB(Malawi) LLM(UP)
Shyreen Yona Chirwa is a Doctoral Candidate at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, where she is also serving as a Project Officer within the Children's Rights Unit. She holds a Master of Laws in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria (2022), a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree from the University of Malawi (2014), and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Livingstonia, Malawi (2009). Her academic and professional interests span several critical areas, including children's rights, criminal law and justice, and climate justice. Through her research and advocacy, she is committed to promoting stronger legal protections for children, enhancing equitable access to justice, and addressing the intersections between human rights, law, and environmental sustainability.
Tel +27 (0)65 560 3814
shyreen.chirwa@up.ac.za
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Expression, Information and Digital Rights
Project Officer
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3180
ivy.gikonyo@up.ac.za
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LLB (Moi University), LLM HRDA (Pretoria) LLD Cand. (Pretoria)
HRDA Tutor and Doctoral Candidate
Project Officer: Expression, Information and Digital Rights
HRDA Tutor and Doctoral Candidate
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3180
jared.gekombe@up.ac.za
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Project Coordinator
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3810
mispa.roux@up.ac.za
Mispa Roux is a coordinator at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights of a project to strengthen the protection of sexual and reproductive health rights in Africa, and she is also a senior research officer in the NRF SARChI Chair for International Constitutional Law at UP. She completed her LLB degree in 2006, an LLM degree in International Law in 2007, and her LLD degree in International Law in 2012, all from the University of Johannesburg. Her LLD thesis is entitled “A Comparative Analysis of the Causes for Breaching the Erga Omnes Obligation to Prevent and Prosecute Gross Human Rights Violations”, and it was completed under the supervision of Professor Hennie Strydom.
Prior to joining UP, she was a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Johannesburg between 2008 and 2022. She taught public international law, international criminal and humanitarian law, as well as human rights law. Mispa was further the Deputy Director of the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC), a centre of the University of Johannesburg, between 2016 and 2022, and was also the founder and head of its Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Unit.
Mispa’s research focuses on international criminal law (in particular genocide, crimes against humanity, and sexual and gender-based violence), international human rights law, the law of state responsibility, and South African human rights law. She has published on these focus areas in a number of leading discipline specific accredited journals and peer-reviewed books, and has presented several academic papers at international conferences and national conferences. She also sits on the editorial board of the Constitutional Court Review (CCR), a law journal that devotes its attention to the work of the South African Constitutional Court.
Op-Ed's
Articles in peer-reviewed or refereed journals
- Mispa Roux “Early warning of gross human rights violations: an international law perspective” (4) Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg (Journal of South African Law) 2011 650 – 663.
- Mispa Roux “The erga omnes obligation to prevent and prosecute gross human rights violations with special emphasis upon genocide and persecution as a crime against humanity” African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law 2012 98 – 133.
- Mispa Roux “Reaction to early warning of gross human rights violations: preventative steps by the international community”, (3) Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg (Journal of South African Law) (2013) 453 – 477.
- Mispa Roux “Sexual violence during armed conflict and reparation: paying due regard to a unique trauma” African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law (2014) 87 – 110.
- Mispa Roux “A new era for international criminal law: rethinking the definitions of crimes against humanity and genocide through the scope of its evolution as an outgrowth of war crimes” (2017) Southern African Yearbook of International Law 80 – 118.
- Mispa Roux “Obstacles to the prevention of gross human rights violations” (1) Tydskrif vir die Suid-Afrikaanse Reg (Journal of South African Law) 2018 106.
- Mispa Roux “Contributing to the achievement of justice for victims of sexual and gender-based violence by implementing the legacy and experience of international criminal courts and tribunals” Volume 31 Stellenbosch Law Review (2020) 455 – 480.
- Mispa Roux “Addressing a selection of challenges faced at international courts and tribunals with jurisdiction over international crimes” African Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (2020) 44 – 77.
- Mispa Roux “Loyiso Coko v S (CA&R 219/2020) [2021] ZAECGHC 91 (8 October 2021): oblique subscription to rape myths as an indication of the urgent need to reform the mens rea test in acquaintance rape cases in South Africa” South African Journal of Criminal Justice 2022 (3) 356 – 372.
Chapters in books
- Mispa Roux “Comment: democratic flexibility and constitutional stability” in Charl Hugo and Thomas MJ Möllers (editors) Legality and Limitation of Powers: Values, Principles and Regulations in Civil Law, Criminal Law, and Public Law Volume 88 (Nomos Verlagsgeseelschaft and Juta & Co) (2019) 89 – 102.
- Mispa Roux and Kriyanka Reddi “Sexual and gender-based violence in the context of the Syrian armed conflict and the question of individual criminal responsibility for the perpetrators” in Hennie Strydom and Joanna Botha (editors) Select Essays on Governance and Accountability Issues in Public Law (African Sun Media, SUN PReSS) (2020) (double blind peer reviewed; editors applied for accreditation).
- Mispa Roux “The significance of the erga omnes obligation to prosecute genocide for legal certainty in international criminal law” in Hugo and Moellers (editors) Legal Certainty and Fundamental Rights: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Constitutional Principles in German and South African Law Volume 89 (Nomos Verlagsgeseelschaft and Juta & Co) (2020) (double blind peer reviewed; editors applied for accreditation).
- Mispa Roux and Sabreen Hassen “Legal certainty and international crimes: a public international law perspective” in Hugo and Moellers (editors) Legal Certainty and Fundamental Rights: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Constitutional Principles in German and South African Law Volume 89 (Nomos Verlagsgeseelschaft and Juta & Co) (2020) (double blind peer reviewed; editors applied for accreditation).
- Mispa Roux “Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court: South Africa’s legacy of overlooking the erga omnes obligation to prosecute international crimes by prioritising peace” in David Bilchitz and Raisa Cachalia (Editors), Magadalena Correa Henao and Nathalia Bautista Pizarro (Adjunct Editors) Transitional and Distributive Justice in Transformative Constitutionalism: Comparing Colombia and South Africa (Oxford University Press (forthcoming in 2023) (double blind peer reviewed; editors applied for accreditation).
- Details
Programme Manager: LLM HRDA
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 6703
michelle.maziwisa@up.ac.za
Publications
- Michelle R. Maziwisa, 'The Politics of Language in Post-Apartheid South Africa' (Forum of Federations, Occasional Paper Series, 2022) available on https://forumfed.org/topic/
language-policy/
- Michelle Rufaro Maziwisa & Ebenezer Durojaye 'The state of Zimbabwe’s compliance with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control' in E Durojaye and L Murungi International Human Rights Law and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Lessons from Africa and Beyond (Routledge, 2022).
- Maziwisa MR 'External Economic Arrangements and South African Cities as Agents of Local Development: Illustrations from the City of Cape Town' (2021) 17(1) Journal of Global Business and Technology 54-68.
- Maziwisa MR 'Barriers to access to contraceptives for adolescent girls in rural Zimbabwe as a human rights challenge' in E Durojaye, G Mirugi-Mukundi and C Ngwena Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in Africa: Constraints and Opportunities (Routledge, 2021) pp. 67-83.
- Details
Tatenda Mushaikwa | Gweru, Zimbabwe
LLB UNISA
Previous experience
Student Researcher at Institute Dispute Resolution in Africa
Academic fields of interest
Socio-economic Rights
Position prior to the programme
Founder of a Non-profit organisation
- Details
Christof Heyns Lecture
The Christof Heyns Lecture is an annual event that serves as a platform for engaging with critical issues in international human rights discourse. Established in honor of Professor Christoffel Hendrik (Christof) Heyns, the lecture brings together scholars, activists, and practitioners to reflect on contemporary human rights challenges.;
Read more
Helen Kanzira Memoria Lecture
The Helen Kanzira Lecture is an annual lecture on sexual and reproductive rights in Africa, held within the framework of a consortium of 13 African universities that present the Master’s programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA).
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Thulani Maseko Memorial Lecture
Thulani was a human rights defender with a great and justified reputation. He was deeply dedicated to human rights, the rule of law and democracy in Eswatini. He slept, breathed, ate and walked human rights. He was also a spirited and committed public intellectual, not shying away from the risk of taking public positions at odds with that of the powerful monarchy.
Read more
Julius Osega Memorial Lecture
Julius Osega was a graduate of the Master’s programme. After graduating, he returned to work with the Uganda Police Service. He was promoted to head the Human Rights Complaints Desk ― a position he held until he was deployed to Darfur as part of the African Union force. He was also the Deputy Acting Commissioner for the Legal Department of the Uganda Police Service. At the time of his death, he held the rank of Police Superintendent and upon his death, he was posthumously promoted to the rank of Senior Superintendent.
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Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture
The Nelson Mandela Memorial Lecture is part of the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition, organised by the Centre in collaboration with the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the American University, Washington College of Law and the United Nations.
Read more
- Details
Communications and Advocacy Associate: SOGIESC Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3151
victoria.amaechi@up.ac.za
Country of origin: Nigeria
Qualification(s): LLB (UP)
Academic fields of interest: African political philosophy, refugee law, human rights, migration and queer and sexual minorities rights
- Details
Njahîra Wangarî (She/Her)
BEd (Sp.Ed)- Kenyatta University, MSc. T&C- Syracuse University
Programme Officer: Disability Rights Unit
PhD Candidate (DRU)
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3810
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
faith.wangari@up.ac.za
- Details
Christof Heyns In Memoriam 1959-2021
This book is dedicated to the memory and legacy of Professor Christof Heyns
It was compiled by the Centre for Human Rights and the Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, to honour the memory of Christof Heyns at an event on 15 November 2021 where a tree was planted at the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa on the Hatfield Campus at the University of Pretoria.
Edited and designed by Yolanda BooyzenPrinted by Minit Print Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa
In memory of Christof Heyns
www.facebook.com/christofheyns
Download In memory of Christof Heyns
About the Christof Heyns Human Rights Scholarship
Applications are invited for the award of the first Christof Heyns Human Rights Scholarship. Applications are open to current or prospective doctoral candidates studying towards a doctoral degree in human rights at the University of Pretoria. Enquiries related to the scholarship can be directed to carole.viljoen@up.ac.za.
Download Call for Applications
Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Moot Court Competition will in future be known as the ‘Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition’. Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, who presided over the renaming, explained that the renaming was in memory and recognition of Christof’s role the as the Moot’s founding father and sustaining driving force over many decades”.
Christof Heyns Memorial Thesis Award
The Memorial Thesis Award was introduced to honour the memory of the late Professor Christof Heyns, who passed away in March 2021. Professor Heyns was a founder of the Pretoria University Law Press and took the initiative towards the introduction of this prize. This prize underlines his exceptional passion for promoting scholarship and a life devoted to initiating innovative ideas to make the world a better place for all. There can be no better way to begin to recognise the enormous contribution that Professor Heyns has made to advancing scholarship, research and publication in Africa, by Africans and on Africa.
The prize was awarded based on the assessment of a panel consisting of Professor Hennie Strydom, University of Johannesburg (Convener), Professor Johanna Botha, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth and Professor Solomon Ebrobrah, Niger Delta University, Nigeria. The criteria used by the panel include the inherent quality of the research, as well as the relevance of the topic to African challenges and the originality of the approach.
Tree planting ceremony in honour of Prof Christoff Heyns
- Details
Matilda Lasseko-Phooko (she/her)
Programme Manager: Women's Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 4306
matilda.lasseko-phooko@up.ac.za ORCID
Publications
- M Lasseko-Phooko ‘Inclusive COVID-19 economic policy responses to assist returnee women migrant domestic workers trafficked from Kenya to Gulf Cooperation Council states for labour exploitation’ in A Budoo-Scholtz & A Johnson COVID-19 and women’s intersectionalities in Africa (2023) PULP https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/
component/edocman/covid-19- and-women-s- intersectionalities-in-africa - M Lasseko-Phooko & S Mahomed ‘The challenges to gender equality in the legal profession in South Africa: A case for substantive equality as a means for achieving gender transformation’ (2021) 21 African Human Rights Law Journal http://www.scielo.org.za/
scielo.php?script=sci_arttext& pid=S1996-20962021000100022 - M Lasseko ‘The role of civil society in the transitional justice process: the evolving Kenyan experience’ in W Kaguongo & G Musila, Addressing Impunity and Options for Justice in Kenya: Mechanisms, Issues and Debates (January 16, 2014). Judiciary Watch Report, Vol. VIII, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2379980 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2379980
- M Lasseko Phooko ‘An actionable constitutional right of access to information in Southern Africa’ in F Diallo & R Calland, Access to Information in Africa: Law, Culture and Practices (2013) Brill https://brill.com/view/title/23787
- M Lasseko Phooko & F Adeleke ‘Towards realising the right of access to internet-based information Africa’ in F Diallo & R Calland, Access to Information in Africa: Law, Culture and Practices (2013) Brill https://brill.com/view/title/23787
- M Lasseko Phooko ‘Confronting Vexatious Proceedings: Dispute Resolution’ Without Prejudice Volume 14, Issue 11 Dec 2014 https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC165195
- Details
Nozipho Manqele
Monitoring, Evaluation and Advocacy Coordinator
+27 (0) 12 420 4948
nozipho.manqele@up.ac.za
- Details
Mr Nqobani Nyathi (he/him)
Doctoral Candidate
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 3587
Fax +27 (0)86 580 5743
nqobani.nyathi@up.ac.za
- Details
(LLB, Khartoum) (LLM, Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa) (LLD Candidate, UP)
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3587
mai.aman@up.ac.za
- Details
BA Law(UP), LLB(UP), LLM Candidate(UP)
Project Associate: SOGIESC Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 3151
nathan.milanzi@up.ac.za
- Details
Intern: Disability Rights Unit
LLB(UP) LLM Candidate (UP)
+27 (0) 12 420 6345
sabeeha.majid@up.ac.za
- Details
LLB (Candidate)((UP)
Volunteer: SOGIESC Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3151
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
tshamanoomphaa@gmail.com
Interests
Socioeconomic right to health, sexual minorities rights law, sexual and reproductive rights law, research and international human rights law.
- Details
LLB(University of the Gambia) BL(Nigeria Law School, Abuja) LLM(UP) LLDCandidate(UP)
Project officer: Women's Rights Unit
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4306
oluwaseyitan.solademi@up.ac.za
- Details
LLM(UP) LLD Candidate (UP)
LLM/MPhil (HRDA) Tutor
+27 (0) 12 420 3810
Wilson.Macharia@up.ac.za
- Details
Financial Manager
Tel: +27 (012) 420 4132
Samuel.chamboko@up.ac.za
Country of origin: Masvingo, Zimbabwe
Qualification(s): B.Compt and ACCA
Background: Over 20 years in Audit, Tax and Finance.
Academic fields of interest: Human Rights, development and economics
- Details
LLB(University of Buea), LLM(UP), PhD(Åbo Akademi University)
+27 (0) 12 420 3587
elvis.fokala@up.ac.za
Expertise:
Child Law, Family Law, Human Rights, African Human Rights System
- Details
BA Law(UP) LLB(UP)
Programme Coordinator: Disability Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 6345
t.mavunga@up.ac.za
- Details
LLM(Geneva Academy) PhD(University of Neuchâtel)
Project Coordinator: African Coalition for Corporate Accountability
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 6210
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 574
sabenjamin.traore@up.ac.za
- Details
BA Law(UP) LLB(UP) LLM Candidate(UP)
Project Officer: Democracy and Civic Engagement Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4199
tariro.sekeramayi@up.ac.za
- Details
LLB(UP)
Moot assistant Coordinator
African Human Rights Moot Court Competition
Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 4841
m.nyamadzi@up.ac.za
- Details
Graphic Designer: Communications and Advocacy
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4512
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
octavia.roodt@up.ac.za
- Details
Ms Bianca Dyers
Project Intern: SOGIESC Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 72 02 55 286
linkedin.com/in/bianca-dyers
bianca.dyers98@gmail.com
Expertise/Skills: international human rights, international children’s rights, legal drafting, and research.
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Brian Kibirango | Uganda
Brian Kibirango is an avid researcher formally working as Research Programme Officer at the Human Rights and Peace Centre (HURIPEC) based at Makerere University’s School of Law. He aspires - through a career in academics - to influence socio-legal and political dialogue as well as influence policy formulation and implementation.
+27680318715
brian.kibirango@up.ac.za
- Details
Tamika Thumbran | South Africa
Tamika Thumbiran is the In-House Counsel within the Litigation and Implementation Unit at the Centre for Human Rights. In this role, she represents the Centre in strategic impact litigation before domestic, regional, and international forums, advancing a broad spectrum of human rights. Her work also includes legal advocacy initiatives that seek to promote systemic change and strengthen human rights protections across the African continent.
Tamika also serves as the Project Co-ordinator for the Centre’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Africa (SRHR) Programme. In this capacity, she oversees the implementation of projects aimed at promoting sexual and reproductive justice, with a focus on legal reform, gender equality, and access to health services.
Tamika is also a practising member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates and an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship and the Young African Leaders Initiative Network. She first joined the Centre as a Legal Fellow through the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Waging Justice for Women programme. Her legal expertise lies in gender rights, and she has worked extensively on issues affecting women and marginalised communities, combining litigation, research, and advocacy to achieve transformative outcomes.
Tamika has played a leading role in several notable cases. These include the Embrace Project NPC and Others v Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and Others (04856/22) in the High Court, and its pending confirmation proceedings before the Constitutional Court of South Africa (CCT314/24 and CCT315/24), where the Centre—acting as amicus curiae alongside the Psychological Society of South Africa—advanced arguments on how peritraumatic responses to rape can impair a survivor’s ability to communicate, refuse, or withdraw consent, challenging the constitutional adequacy of South Africa’s current definition of rape.
She also contributed to the Centre’s interventions in Werner van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour(CCT308/23) and Commission for Gender Equality and Another v Minister of Employment and Labour and Others(CCT309/23), which challenge the exclusionary and gendered nature of maternity and parental benefits under the Labour Relations Act.
At the regional level, Tamika has been involved in the case of Amhara Association of America and the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria v. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Communication No. 814/23), currently before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, addressing grave human rights violations committed during conflict in the Amhara region. She is also part of the legal team in Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, and Centre for Human Rights (on behalf of children affected by witchcraft accusations in Nigeria) v. The Federal Republic of Nigeria (Communication No. 0017/COM/001/2021), a case currently before the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which seeks to secure justice and protection for children subjected to abuse and discrimination linked to witchcraft accusations.
- Details
Postdoctoral researcher
Programme Manager, LLM in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa (TILA)
+27 (0)12 420 6200
rj.kabre@up.ac.za
Podcast
Dr Jonathan Kabre explains how his academic journey in the field of international relations led him to winning the 2020 Law Faculty Prize (Prix de Faculté) from the University of Lausanne for the best doctoral dissertation. His dissertation, through a comparative analysis of case-law of selected international courts and tribunals, examines the role of private lawyers (counsel and advocates) in the settlement of international disputes and their contribution to the development of international law. The monograph, coming from this dissertation, is in the editing process and should be out before the end of the year.
- Details
Ms Lydia Chibwe
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 4306
lydia.chibwe@up.ac.za
- Details
LLM (UKZN), LLD (UP)
Project Officer& research assistant: Migrants' Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 3151
tundeenigbokan@gmail.com
Publications
- Making the right to vote of IDPs a reality: Lessons from Ethiopia Eds Enguday Meskele Ashine & Omotunde Enigbokan
- African countries need to ensure that the health of refugees is protected during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Details
Research Assistant, Disability Rights Unit
LLB (UNISA)
Tel +27 (0)12 420 3072
Fax +27 (0)86 580 5743
tariro.rufetu@up.ac.za
Mrs Tariro Rufetu is a Research Assistant in the Disability Rights Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. Tariro holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from University of South Africa (UNISA) Tariro is passionate about human rights and is working on developing her expertise in human rights in Africa through her work at the Centre for Human Rights.
Tariro has been actively involved in the work done by the Centre for Human Rights, most particularly, within the Disability Rights Unit. Tariro is currently part of a team working with the National Task Force for Persons with Albinism, who is drafting a national action plan on persons with albinism in South Africa. Tariro has been involved in access to justice for persons with disabilities trainings of justice personnel in South Africa and Botswana. She also does presentations on behalf of the Centre for Human Rights on issues related to disability rights in Africa.
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Janet Gbam
LLB (Makurdi), LLM(UP) LLD(Candidate) UP
Research Assistant
Academic Associate: Multidisciplinary Human Rights
+27 (0) 12 420 3810
janet.gbam@up.ac.za
- Details
Tizi Merafe
LLB(Wits) LLM Candidate(UP)
Research Assistant: IDLU
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 5296
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
tmerafe7@gmail.com
- Details
Susan Mutambasere
LLB(UZ) LLM(UP) LLD Candidate(UP)
Project Officer: Women's Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 4196
susan.mutambasere@up.ac.za
Media Publications
- Constitutionalism in the time of COVID-19: The Zimbabwe experience
Originally published in ANCL-RADC
12 May 2020
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LLB(Akungba), BL(Lagos), LLM(Ibadan), LLD Candidate(UP)
Programme Manager: Litigation and Implementation Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3810
foluso.adegalu@up.ac.za
- Details
LLB (Lagos), LLM (UP), LLD (UP)
Post Doctoral Candidate
Tel: +27 (0)12 420 3151
ayodele.sogunro@up.ac.za
Expertise
International human rights law; sexual minorities rights law; sexual and reproductive rights law; business and human rights; legal drafting; creative writing; policy analysis and research; strategic litigation
Social Links
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayosogunro
https://twitter.com/ayosogunro
Academic Publications
- A Sogunro, ‘Citizenship in the shadows: Insights on queer advocacy in Nigeria' (2018) 45 College Literature 632 http://doi.org/10.1353/lit.2018.0037
- ‘One more nation bound in freedom: Themes from the Nigerian “anti-gay law”' (2014) 114 Transition 48 https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/550586
General Publications
- ‘Compendium of laws discriminating against persons based on SOGIE in Nigeria' (TIERS, 2017)
- Everything in Nigeria is going to Kill You (2014) ISBN 978-9-789-43268-4 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9789432682/
- The Wonderful Life of Senator Boniface and other Sorry Tales (2013) ISBN 978-9-789-34076-7 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9789340761/
- Death in the Dawn (2013) ISBN 978-1-482-08198-5 https://www.amazon.com/Death-Dawn-Tragicomedy-Ayo-Sogunro/dp/1482081989/
- Cracks in the Ivory Tower (2004) ISBN 978-2-94333-9
Selected Media Articles
African Arguments
- A Sogunro, Don’t just vote. Mobilise. (Aka Why elections won’t change Nigeria) (29 January 2019) https://africanarguments.org/2019/01/29/nigeria-vote-mobilise-elections-wont-change/
- A Sogunro, Why whistle-blowing won’t save Nigeria (4 May 2017) https://africanarguments.org/2017/05/04/whistle-blowing-wont-save-nigeria/
The Guardian (Nigeria)
- A Sogunro, 'The Nigerian culture that Runsewe does not know', The Guardian (30 August 2019) https://guardian.ng/features/the-nigerian-culture-that-runsewe-does-not-know/
- A Sogunro, 'Why we must not be fearful of equal rights', The Guardian (24 July 2019) https://guardian.ng/features/law/why-we-must-not-be-fearful-of-equal-rights/
- A Sogunro, Saving Nigerian lives through human rights (29 May 2019) https://guardian.ng/features/saving-nigerian-lives-through-human-rights/amp/
- A Sogunro, 'Reopening the unfortunate case of the Nigerian Police', The Guardian (24 April 2019), https://guardian.ng/features/reopening-the-unfortunate-case-of-the-nigerian-police/
- A Sogunro, 'Homophobic rhetoric and Nigeria’s culture of violence', The Guardian (27 March 2019), https://guardian.ng/features/homophobic-rhetoric-and-nigerias-culture-of-violence/
- A Sogunro, Class consciousness and the Nigerian condition (30 May 2018) https://guardian.ng/politics/class-consciousness-and-the-nigerian-condition/amp/
- A Sogunro, A lesson on sexism, for Nigerian men (25 April 2018) https://guardian.ng/features/a-lesson-on-sexism-for-nigerian-men/amp/
Sunday Punch (Nigeria)
- A Sogunro The moratorium on migration, Sunday Punch (15 January 2017), https://punchng.com/the-moratorium-on-migration/
- A Sogunro, We’re still wrong about rights, Sunday Punch (18 December 2016), https://punchng.com/still-wrong-rights/
- A Sogunro, On gender equality and ignorance of high places (21 February 2016), https://punchng.com/on-gender-equality-and-ignorance-of-high-places/
Videos
- Power and the People: A call for constitutional transformation, TVC News, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO2aDTV-rrA
- Human rights, sexuality and the law, TIERs Nigeria, https://youtu.be/9F6wBAZ_I34
- Nigeria Is Not A Democracy But An Anocracy - Ayo Sogunro, Sahara Reporters, https://youtu.be/Z-ZfChVU0jM
- Untold Facts S1 E2 - Damage caused by discriminatory laws, TIERs Nigeria, https://youtu.be/N1y0ZsFSb1
Podcast
In this episode, Dr Ayodele Sogunro who has completed his doctoral studies at the Centre for Human Rights, walks us through the academic journey of attaining his PhD with the Centre for Human Rights. His PhD thesis is titled ‘Advocacy, Social Control and the criminalisation of same-sex relationships: The Evolution and enforcement of ‘anti-gay laws in Nigeria’. His research focuses on a critical legal studies perspective of LGBTIQ+ issues in Nigeria, around political homophobia, socio-economic issues, and the need by advocates to understand wider state dynamics of homophobia and transphobia in systems of power.
- Details
LLB(UoG), LLM (ECSU), LLM (UP), LLD candidate (UP)
Manager: Migration Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 3810
Abiy.ashenafi@up.ac.za
Publications
- Abiy A Ashenafi 'Misinterpreting the language of justice in Venda' AfricLaw (2015)
- M Killander, K Obura & A Ashenafi 'Selected developments in human rights and democratisation in 2015: Sub-Saharan Africa' (2017)1 Global Campus Human Rights Journal
- Abiy Ashenafi ‘Reflections on some challenges to achieving durable solutions to violence-induced internal displacement in Ethiopia’ (2022).
- Abiy Ashenafi ‘Protecting persons displaced due to the impacts of climate change in Africa: Through a new treaty, or through a ‘progressive’ interpretation?’ 2022 African Legal Studies Blog
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Tatenda Musinahama
BSc Honours Political Science(UZ), BA PolSc(UP)
Communications and Advocacy Associate
Tel +27 (0) 12 420 5408
tatenda.musinahama@up.ac.za
- Details
Ms Liesl Hager (she/her)
LLB cum laude (UP), LLM cum laude (UP), Doctor of Laws candidate (UP)
Research, Marketing and Publishing Assistant,
PULP (Pretoria University Law Press)
+27 (0) 72 225 8698
liesl.hager@up.ac.za
- Details
Larissa Heüer
BA (Mannheim) MSc (Glasgow) DPhil candidate (Pretoria)
Academic Associate LLM/MPhil Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa (SRRA)
Publications
- L Heüer, ‘70 years after: Reflections on the significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for women’s rights in Africa’ (2019) 1 Cross-cultural Human Rights Review 105 - 129.
Conferences Papers
- International Law and Justice for Victims of the Gross Human Rights Violation of Sexual and Gender-based Violence, University of Johannesburg (2019)
Paper: Realising justice for the silent victims of sexual and gender-based violence: Lessons from transitional South Africa - Elimination of Violence against Women Conference, Middlesex University Mauritius (2018)
Paper: Sex work: The epitome of women’s economic oppression or liberation?
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Ms Vivian Kasunda
LLB(NWU), LLM Candidate(UP)
Intern: Disability Rights Unit
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3801
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
vivian.kasunda@up.ac.za
- Details
Dr Tomiwa Ilori
LL.B. (Ife), B.L.(Lagos), LL.M. (UP), LL.D(UP)
Project Coordinator: Expression, Information & Digital Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 4397
oluwatomiwa.ilori@up.ac.za
Media Publications
- A socio-legal analysis of Nigeria’s Protection from Internet Falsehoods, Manipulations and Other Related Matters Bill
5 December 2019
- Access to the internet can reduce existing barriers for women’s rights
Originally published in AfricLaw
4 May 2020
- Details
Dr Oyeniyi Abe
LLM(CEU), PhD(UCT)
Programme Manager: LLM International Trade and Investment Law in Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 6200
Fax: +27 (0) 12 362 5125
oo.abe@up.ac.za
- Details
LLB (Kenyatta University), LLM HRDA (UP) LLD Candidate(UP)
HRDA Tutor
Programme officer: Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit
+27 (0) 12 420 3180
mssimiyu@gmail.com
Media articles
- The Potential for Digital Solutions in Voter Engagement in Africa
Originally published on GCHR
10 September 2020 - Digital solutions for African elections in the time of COVID-19
Originally published in AfricLaw
22 April 2020
- Details
Dr Dominique Mystris
LLB LLM(University of London) PhD(QMUL)
Podcast Producer
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 5408
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
dominique.mystris@up.ac.za
- Details
Dr Romola Adeola
LLM HRDA (UP) LLD(UP)
Coordinator
Global Engagement Network on Internal Displacement in Africa (GENIDA)
Tel: +27 (0) 12 420 3151
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
romola.adeola@up.ac.za
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LLB (Moi) LLM (UP) LLD (UWC) ORCID
Assistant Director: Centre for Human Rights
Member: Executive Committee
+27 (0)12 420 4684
Nkatha.Murungi@up.ac.za
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LLB (Honours) (UZ) LLM (UP)
Assistant Director: Centre for Human Rights
Member: Executive Committee
+27 (0)12 420 3810
lloyd.kuveya@up.ac.za
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Acting Director: Centre for Human Rights
+27 (0)12 420 4532
Bio
Prof Durojaye areas of research interest include international human rights law, socio-economic rights, 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
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PLEASE NOTE:
These programmes and projects are no longer operational. This page is for archival purposes only.
Integrated Bar Project
The Integrated Bar Project (IBP) was established in the late 1980's with the objective of exposing senior black South African law students to the legal practice of especially commercial law in the country's larger law firms. Since then approximately 1385 students from all law faculties in South Africa have undertaken 3-week internships during the July university holidays. Almost all the top law firms in the country participated and additional specialised phases were added.
The Integrated Bar Project (IBP) aimed to place 100-150 senior black law students from all South Africa's Universities on July holiday internships with South Africa's top law firms. Twenty of these students advanced to specialised internships with the High Courts, the Constitutional Court and the largest commercial banks in South Africa.
SASVO (Southern African Student Volunteers)
The Southern African Student Volunteers (SASVO) was established in 1993 to give students and communities in the southern African region the opportunity to work together as volunteers in sustainable community development projects. Although based at the University of Pretoria, students from all universities in southern Africa and from all disciplines participated in SASVO projects
SASVO goals were to improve the quality of life in rural areas by working with community members on various projects. Three-week work camps were organised for student volunteers during holiday periods. Special camps were organised for student leaders so that they could develop volunteer programmes from their campuses.
NEPAD Book Project
With financial support of the GTZ, Dr Hesphina Rukato, the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was assigned the responsibility of writing a comprehensive monograph on NEPAD. This was published during 2009 and the launch of the book took place on 11 November. The keynote address was delivered by former president Thabo Mbeki. The book has since been launched in the United States, the United Kingdom and in Ethiopia.
Indigenous Peoples' Rights
The Centre embarked on a project on indigenous peoples rights in selected African states, which culminated in a publication Overview Report of the Research Project by the International Labour Organization and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the constitutional and legislative protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in 24 African countries
For more information on this publication and the Indigenous Peoples' Rights database, please visit www.chr.up.ac.za/chr_old/indigenous/
Xenophobia Project
Since May 2008, the Centre for Human Rights has been engaged in the Strengthening Democracy Project, which focuses on researching the extent, solutions to, and possible causes of xenophobia and xenophobic violence in South Africa. A Centre project on the xenophobic violence of 2008 was completed in 2009, and published as The nature of South Africa’s legal obligations to combat xenophobia.
In March 2008, a wave of xenophobic violence swept across many parts of South Africa, including Tshwane. This study aims to provide an analysis of the potential role that law, and particularly human rights law, may play in combating such violence and its root causes. The study considers the issue from a multidisciplinary perspective, by informing itself of the views of both nationals and non-nationals on pertinent issues. Against this background, an analysis is made of South Africa’s legal obligations, deriving from its Constitution as well as United Nations and African Union treaties to which it is a state party.
Access to Medicines
The Access to Medicines project focuses on Intellectual Property (IP), Human Rights, and Access to Medicine. The Project monitors trends in international trade that impact Access to Medicines, at the regional and country levels; and also examines emerging measures to improve access to medicines in Africa. The project further provides a forum for intergovernmental deliberations, supported by discussions with experts and exchanges of experience aimed at raising awareness of the current challenges to ‘Access to Medicines’ and generating best options and solutions to advance the cause.
Human Rights & Foreign Policy
The Human Rights & Foreign Policy research project is a collaboration between the Centre for Human Rights and the Department of Political Science at the University of Pretoria.
State Reporting Project
In line with its obligations under the various human rights treaties to which it is a party, the South African government is currently in the process of preparing several state reports. The Centre for Human Rights has been working with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in preparing these reports. While the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development coordinates this project, the Centre for Human Rights provides the expertise on this project. Specifically, the reports under the following treaties are being produced: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Work on producing the reports under the listed treaties is at a very advanced stage and will be concluded shortly.
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Mr Edouard Jaco-Guillarmod is a Chartered Accountant and Partner for 21 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He was a Member of the firm’s National Policy Board and Executive Management Committee and Chairman of the Pretoria branch. He is also the CEO of the Gauteng Gambling Board and a former member of the National Transport Commission. Currently, he is a private consultant mainly acting as an accounting expert witness in litigation matters.
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Prof Sylvia Tamale is a leading African feminist lawyer and scholar based in Kampala, Uganda. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from Makerere University, a Masters in Law from Harvard Law School and a PhD in Sociology and Feminist Studies from the University of Minnesota. She is the immediate outgoing Dean of Law at Makerere University and has been a visiting professor at several academic institutions around the world. Her latest publication is African Sexualities: A Reader (Pambazuka Press, 2011). She has won several awards for defending the human rights of marginalized groups such as women, sex workers, homosexuals and refugees.
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Dr David Padilla is an American Fulbright professor on International Human Rights Law and former legal counsel for the Organization of American States (OAS). He previously served as a consultant and Fulbright senior specialist in Asia and Africa. He is also the former Executive Secretary: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
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Justice Bess Nkabinde-Mmono is Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa since 2006. She facilitated a discussion on 'The Rights of Minorities within the context of Access to Justice' at the First South Asian Regional Judicial Colloquium on 'Access to Justice' (New-Delhi) which was convened by the Chief Justice BN Kirpal and facilitated by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), International Center for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (Interights) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2002.
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Justice Johann van der Westhuizen has a long association with the University of Pretoria where he was educated. He was appointed a professor in 1980 and in 1986 became the founding director of the Centre for Human Rights, a position he held until 1998. He joined the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court of South Africa in 1999 and was appointed a judge on the Constitutional Court on 1 February 2004. Justice van der Westhuizen was intimately involved in the drafting of South Africa’s final Constitution in 1995 and 1996. He organised several conferences between 1984 and 1994 on human rights and related matters and participated in discussions with the then-banned liberation movements in Dakar, Harare, Lusaka and New York. He has published numerous articles and edited books on legal history, criminal law, jurisprudence and human rights and has lectured and participated in several courses and seminars for new judges and magistrates. Justice van der Westhuizen is an Extraordinary Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria and teaches from time to time in the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa Programme. He delivered the keynote address at the Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2002. He has served as a judge in the final round of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition and has been a Board Member at the Centre for Human Rights for many years.
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An advocate at the Johannesburg Bar for 25 years, prior to becoming a provincial and thereafter appellate judge, Justice Johann Kriegler was appointed a Justice of the Constitutional Court on its foundation in 1994, a position he held until 2002. He headed the Independent Electoral Commission, which ran the country’s first democratic elections in 1994, and was instrumental in establishing the permanent electoral commission, which he chaired until 1999. Since then he has participated in numerous national and international judicial missions and has lectured on judicial and electoral matters in numerous countries throughout the world. Justice Kriegler has had a long and close relationship with the Centre for Human Rights where he lectures from time to time to students in the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa programme. He has also served as a judge in the final round of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition. He is an Extraordinary Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria and has been a Board Member at the Centre for Human Rights for many years.
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The Centre for Human Rights is located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Law Building, Faculty of Law
at the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Centre for Human Rights
Faculty of Law
University of Pretoria
South Africa
0002
Tel : +27 (0) 12 420 3810 / +27 (0) 12 420 3034
Fax: +27 (0) 86 580 5743
Email: chr@up.ac.za
Website: www.chr.up.ac.za
Map of the University of Pretoria campus
Map to the Centre for Human Rights
Directions to the Centre for Human Rights
Coming from the Hatfield Gautrain Station:
Head south on Grosvenor Street toward Park Street and turn right at the 3rd cross street onto Prospect Street. Continue towards the University's entrance on the corner of Festival Street. After you have passed through the gate, turn left and follow the Ring Road past the Student Centre, and continue utill you pass the Chapel on your right and the Centenary Building on your left. The Faculty of Law is now on your left.
Coming from Johannesburg:
N1, take the R101 Pretoria East off-ramp (you'll see UNISA at this stage on the hill to your right). Follow the Brooklyn M7 (right and then left) to reach Fountains Circle. Stay in the lane second from right to take the Groenkloof off-ramp at the circle. In George Storrar Drive, drive 2.6 km and turn left into Florence Ribeiro Drive. Continue 1.1 km, turn right into Nicolson Street, continue 0.6 km turn left into Roper and you'll reach the main entrance (1.1 km, at the end of Roper) in Lynnwood Road.
Coming from the O R Tambo International Airport:
The Pretoria off-ramp at the airport will take you to Fountains Circle. Take the Groenkloof or Brooklyn off-ramp (about 270 degrees around the circle). In George Storrar Drive, drive 2.6 km and turn left into Florence Ribeiro Drive. Continue 1.1 km, turn right into Nicolson Street, continue 0.6 km turn left into Roper and you'll reach the main entrance (1.1 km, at the end of Roper) in Lynnwood Road.
Coming from the north, the main entrance via Lynnwood Road:
N1, the Pietersburg highway, will take you to the N4, the Witbank Highway and then straight into Pretorius Street. Turn left into Gordon Road following the M7 Brooklyn turn-off (Gordon changes into Jan Shoba Street) for 1.8 km. (You'll cross several traffic lights.) You are now at the Lynnwood Road traffic light. Turn right and continue 0.8 km. You are now at the traffic light at the main entrance. Turn right.
Coming from the west:
From Schoeman Street, turn right into Gordon Road following the M7 Brooklyn turn-off (Gordon changes into Jan Shoba Street) for 1.8 km. (You'll cross several traffic lights.) You are now at the Lynnwood Road traffic light. Turn right and continue 0.8 km. You are now at the traffic light at the main entrance. Turn right.
GPS Coordinates of the University of Pretoria
Hatfield campus: S25° 45’ 21”E28º 13’ 51”
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The Centre for Human Rights hosts two moot court competitions annually: the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition and the Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition. The Centre also established the National Schools Moot Court Competition, which is currently organised by the Department of Basic Education, Government of South Africa.
Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The Christof Heyns African Human Rights Moot Court Competition is the largest gathering of students, academics and judges around the theme of human rights in Africa. This annual event brings together all law faculties in Africa, whose top students argue a hypothetical human rights case as if they were before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
The World Moot is open to undergraduate and masters students from all universities in the world. Teams of two students (gender diversity is encouraged) from every university in the world are invited to submit heads of argument for a hypothetical human rights case. The 50 teams with the highest memorial grades are invited to participate in the preliminary oral rounds and present their arguments to human rights experts and judges of international tribunals at the UN headquarters in Geneva
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National Schools Moot Court Competition
The Competition aims to create greater awareness in schools and communities in South Africa about the Constitution and the values that it embodies through active participation. The aim is also to encourage talented young people to consider pursuing a law career.
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