National Director, ProBono.Org
Former Legal Consultant and full-time Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
(see http://youtu.be/oVTitqBAWql)
Robert Glidden Visiting Professor at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, USA
(see http://www.ohio.edu/provost/apfap/glidden-visiting-professor)
Appointed Adjunct Professorship in the Witwatersrand School of Education (2023 – 2026)
Education:
- Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws Degree (BA LLB) from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)
- Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Business Administration Degree from the University of Limpopo (NQF7) (TGSM&L)
- Master of Laws Degree in Human Rights and Constitutional Practice (LLM) from the University of Pretoria
- Awarded a Fellowship in International Law and Arbitration at the Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law (SWIICL-Dallas, TX USA)
- Awarded a Certificate in Family and Commercial Arbitration (International Institute for Social Services, UK, Sept. 2021)
Human rights recognitions:
- In December 2023, I was appointed adjunct professor in the Witwatersrand School of Education in recognition of my contribution to human rights advocacy and education locally and globally.
In May 2022, I was conferred The Robert Glidden Visiting Professorship in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences in the Department of Political Science at Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, OH USA
(see http://www.ohio.edu/provost/apfap/glidden-visiting-professor) - In November 2020, I received a Certificate of Appreciation for my contribution to the publication of “160 Years of Inspiration” the national project of the 160th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Indian Indentured labourers to South Africa in November 1860
- In June 2017, I was awarded the Dean Robert G. Storey International Leadership Award by the Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law (Dallas, USA) in recognition of my achievements as a Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
- In 2016, I received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Law Society of South Africa for my role in supporting the building of a better legal profession in South Africa
Professional work:
- I am an admitted Advocate of the High Court of the Republic of South Africa
- I was conferred The Robert Glidden Visiting Professor at Ohio University in Athens OH, USA (where I served as a Visiting Professor from September – November 2022)
- I was conferred Adjunct Professorships of the school of Education at the University of Witwatersrand
- I served as a Legal Consultant to the Center for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa (February 2022- April 2022)
- I have served as Commissioner on the SAHRC (2014-2021) and during this period I was responsible for four (4) portfolios, namely:
1) Access to the Right to Housing
2) Right to Water and Sanitation
3) Business and Human Rights
4) Access to Justice - Between October 2016 and January 2017, I served as the Acting Chairperson of the SAHRC (http://youtu.be/oVTitqBAWql)
- I have previously worked for the Limpopo Provincial Government of South Africa where I served in various senior executive managerial capacities, advising on legal and socio-economic rights-related matters
- I have also served as the Town Secretary and Legal Advisor for Makhado Municipality (Limpopo) in the Republic of South Africa
Memberships:
- I have served or serve on various professional bodies:
Social Cohesion Advocate – (appointed in March 2020 by the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture in recognition of my contribution and good standing in society) and I was tasked with helping in nation building and social cohesion - Board Member – Centre for Diversity Studies (University of the Witwatersrand)
- Board Member – Executive Committee of Convocation of the University of the Witwatersrand
- Previously served as a Committee Member – where I served on three United Nations Committees at the Human Rights Council in 2017 (Right to Adequate Housing), 2018 (Right to Clean Water and Sanitation) and 2019 (UN Special Rapporteur, Committee on Business and Human Rights)
