In 1979 a group of activist lawyers, including prominent human rights lawyers Arthur Chaskalson, Felicia Kentridge and Geoff Budlender, created the Legal Resources Centre with two goals in mind: use the law to resist the oppressive apartheid system, and provide a training ground for public interest lawyering and young black lawyers. The LRC soon became well known for using the law as an instrument to challenge apartheid injustices and for representing black South Africans against the apartheid state. The LRC played an important role in helping to dismantle apartheid legal structures.
Four decades of holding powerful institutions to account.
After the 1994 democratic transition in South Africa, the LRC committed itself to upholding the rights enshrined in the new South African Constitution.
Over the next 30 years, the LRC worked with civil society partners and on behalf of individuals and communities across South Africa. On an individual level the LRC provided free legal services to vulnerable people and marginalised communities. In the wider context of South Africa, the LRC employed strategic litigation to advance gender equality, environmental justice, and access to healthcare. These legal breakthroughs had far reaching benefits for millions of South Africans.
In particular, the LRC helped to abolish the death penalty in South Africa, played an important role in advancing the constitutional rights of women, girls, and people with disabilities, and helped to ensure that the government supplied antiretrovirals to combat mother-to-child HIV transmission.
Tackling the most pressing human rights issues of our time.
Today the LRC is South Africa’s largest public interest law centre. As a well-established, trusted, and formidable defender of human rights, we continue to use strategic litigation and advocacy to promote justice using the Constitution, build respect for the rule of law and constitutional democracy; enable individuals and groups without access to legal resources to assert and develop their rights; promote gender and racial equality; and contribute to the development of a human rights jurisprudence and socio-economic transformation in South Africa and beyond.
The LRC is created by a group of
activist anti-apartheid lawyers to
challenge apartheid laws.
1980
One of the first cases that the LRC takes on – and wins – is the Komani case, which helps to destroy the hated apartheid pass system, which made black South Africans foreigners in their own country.
1994
After South Africa’s transition
to democracy, the LRC
dedicates itself to enforcing the
rights established by the new
Constitution and Bill of Rights.
1995
The LRC is part of the successful
campaign to abolish the death
penalty in South Africa.
1996
Members of the LRC play an
important role in developing the
new Constitution of South Africa.
2001
The LRC wins its first class action
case on behalf of people living
with disabilities
2002
The government is ordered to
supply antiretrovirals to combat
mother-to-child HIV transmissions.
2010s
An important legal victory is
won when the Constitutional
Court ruled that the controversial
Communal Land Rights Act
passed in 2004 is invalid.
2019
A landmark high court judgment upholds the right of undocumented children to attend school in South Africa in an important case for access to education.
2020
The LRC renews its dedication to advancing human rights in South Africa by focusing on the twin issues of land and education.
2022
A milestoneenvironmental victory is won when Wild Coast communities and civil society organisations, including the LRC, join forces to successfully prevent Shell from conducting seismic tests off the east coast of South Africa.
2022
The LRC undergoes a governance
transition, becoming a non-profit
company.
A Timeline of
LRC History
1979
The LRC is created by a group of
activist anti-apartheid lawyers to
challenge apartheid laws.
1980
One of the first cases that the LRC takes on – and wins – is the Komani case, which helps to destroy the hated apartheid pass system, which made black South Africans foreigners in their own country.
1994
After South Africa’s transition
to democracy, the LRC
dedicates itself to enforcing the
rights established by the new
Constitution and Bill of Rights.
1995
The LRC is part of the successful
campaign to abolish the death
penalty in South Africa.
1996
Members of the LRC play an
important role in developing the
new Constitution of South Africa.
2001
The LRC wins its first class action
case on behalf of people living
with disabilities
2002
The government is ordered to
supply antiretrovirals to combat
mother-to-child HIV transmissions.
2010s
An important legal victory is
won when the Constitutional
Court ruled that the controversial
Communal Land Rights Act
passed in 2004 is invalid.
2019
A landmark high court judgment upholds the right of undocumented children to attend school in South Africa in an important case for access to education.
2020
The LRC renews its dedication to
advancing human rights in South
Africa by focusing on the twin
issues of land and education.
2022
A milestone environmental victory is won when Wild Coast communities and civil society organisations, including the LRC, join forces to successfully prevent Shell from conducting seismic tests off the east coast of South Africa.
2022
The LRC undergoes a governance
transition, becoming a non-profit
company.
A democratic, accountable, and transparent society in which equitable and inclusive access to justice, dignity, and human rights are lived realities for all.
Our Mission
To undertake evidence-informed action focused on advancing the transformation of South Africa as a democratic society, using the law as an instrument to remove persistent and pervasive structural obstacles to human rights – with a strategic focus on land and education rights.
Amanda Moli is an office assistant at the Makhanda Office. She has been working for the LRC since 2011 and she has obtained a computer certificate while working for the LRC.
Amanda is an administration assistant at the LRC Makhanda Office. She did a Legal Secretary Course and Conveyancing Secretary Course at L.E.A.D in East London in 2012 and have been working in the legal field from 2010.
Anneline is an attorney, duly admitted in 2008, having begun her career as a commercial law attorney. She completed her Master of Laws in Business Law. While working within the private law sector, one of her clients was one of South Africa’s largest public interest housing law organization. Anneline was responsible for managing their housing and eviction cases within the eThekwini region of Kwazulu-Natal.
In 2013 Anneline joined the LRC, focusing on strategic impact litigation and assisting clients with unlawful evictions, access to basic services (such as water and sanitation), and challenging unlawful housing policies – thereby contributing to South Africa’s housing law jurisprudence (including litigation decided in the Constitutional Court). Anneline has expanded her focus to include spatial justice and environmental justice litigation.
Anshal Bodasing is an admitted advocate of the High Court of South Africa and a former member of the Johannesburg Bar. She completed her BA, LLB, and LLM degrees at the University of Kwa Zulu Natal (Howard College). Anshal’s brief legal career highlights include clerking for Justice Albie Sachs at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, serving as a Commissioner in the Press Freedom Commission, chaired by former Chief Justice, Pius Langa and spending a portion of her practice at the Constitutional Litigation Unit at the Legal Resources Centre between 2010 and 2011. Anshal re-joined the LRC in 2021 where she is presently the Manager in the Office of the Director.
Cecile is an attorney in the Makhanda office of the LRC and works in both the Land Programme and the Education Programme. She completed her BA (LLB), LLB, and LLM degrees at the University of Stellenbosch and has worked for the LRC since 2016
Cameron is the co-lead of the education programme and is based in the LRC’s Makhanda office. He holds a teaching diploma and a master’s degree in education policy from UCT, and an LLB from Rhodes University. Cameron’s practice at the LRC has focused on education work. He has been the lead attorney on several seminal pieces of litigation which has given content to the right to basic education on issues such as infrastructure, furniture, scholar transport, and stationery.
Company Secretary, Delysia Weah is based in the national office. Before joining the LRC in 2009 as a professional assistant, she worked at the City of Johannesburg as an executive assistant in their Information Technology Department and as an operations manager, stakeholder relations in their Group Finance Department. Delysia brings more than 15 years of administrative and secretarial experience and holds a qualification in paralegal studies from SA Law School. Delysia obtained her BBA from UNISA and is pursuing a post-graduate qualification through the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa. Her primary role is to support the board and its committees; provide governance and oversight support to the organisation; and give strategic and administrative support to the various departments within the organization, particularly the Executive Committee, the Resource Mobilisation Unit, and Finance.
Devon is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa. He graduated his LLB degree (summa cum laude) at the University of the Western Cape. He is a former Bertha Justice Initiative fellow. The initiative aims at supporting public interest legal practice and training the next generation of radical social justice and movement lawyers. He completed his articles at the Legal Resources Centre South Africa. He then completed his LLM in International and Comparative Law at Trinity College Dublin as a Kader Asmal Fellowship recipient. Devon has a passion for public interest law and believes that the law is a catalyst for positive societal transformation. He is currently employed as an attorney in the LRC Cape Town office where he is a member of the International Networks of Civil Liberties Organisations, African Internet Rights Alliance and is currently engaged in work on digital rights and the right to education.
Ektaa is an attorney in the land program at the LRC. She completed her LLB and LLM in Constitutional Litigation at UKZN. She is currently based in the Johannesburg office where she conducts strategic impact litigation, various advocacy initiatives and participates in policy development. Her focus areas include redistribution of land; access to community resources; traditional governance; and women’s equitable access to resources.
Feeyaz joined LRC as a Project Accountant. Previous financial management experience within the Construction & Engineering, Government and Information Technology Sectors.
Esme joined at the LRC in 1995, employed during the reigns of Geoff Budlender and Shinaaz Meer. She was appointed as the Receptionist / Accounts assistant in the National Office. In 2006 she was appointed as the Office Administrator for the National office. This included working jointly with all the lawyers in the LRC arranging their travel needs when cases are heard in different provinces and outside the borders of the Republic of South Africa. 25 Years later, Esme still honours the wonderful work the LRC is doing.
Goodness is a candidate attorney based in the LRC’s Makhanda office. She holds an LLB from Rhodes University where she majored in Constitutional Litigation, International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Environmental Law, and Copyrights and Trademarks. She is currently completing an LLM from the same institution. Her work at the LRC involves research into basic education.
Kiara is a candidate attorney based in the LRC’s Durban office. She obtained her LLB with distinction from the IIE’s Varsity College, where she served as the Juridical Society Chairperson and Student Head of the School for Law. Kiara is committed to social justice and exploring ways to address the ongoing climate crisis.
Kimal Harvey is a candidate attorney in the Cape Town office. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Social Science with Honours in Justice and Transformation from the University of Cape Town (UCT). While completing his Honours, Kimal worked as a tutor in the Political Sciences Department. Prior to his LLB he worked as an intern at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, thereafter he interned twice at the LRC’s Cape Town offices. While completing his studies at UCT, he was the Transformation Representative for the 2020 Faculty of Law Student Council and worked as a student legal advisor at the UCT Law Clinic.”
Kiren Rutsch is a Candidate Attorney based in the LRC’s Durban office. He first completed a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Politics, Philosophy and Economics before obtaining his law degree from the University of Cape Town. While studying he also served as the president of a non-profit organization working with small business owners in developing communities around Cape Town. He has previously interned at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies and at the LRC.
Kristen is an LLB graduate, who has also received her Honours in English Literature from Wits University. She is passionate about ensuring that all people have the opportunities and resources needed to live dignified lives. Previously, she worked at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, in a space dedicated to strengthening democracy in South Africa. Through the use and reform of the law, she hopes to continue contributing to this, and other spaces, at the LRC.
Lerato is a receptionist based in the LRC’s national office. She holds a National Certificate in Tourism and Reception, with strong communication skills and people engagement skills. Lerato has over 13 years of experience, which includes working for both NGOs and the private sector. Her work involves performing administrative and front desk duties. She is multilingual and proficient in MS Office Suite.
Mathuto joined the LRC in August 2023 as a Grants Management Officer. She currently holds a MSc in Business Development and a Bachelor’s in Economics and International Trade. Prior to joining the LRC, she worked for the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), in the Fundraising and Business Development department. She has been involved in raising and managing funds for projects addressing development issues such as peacebuilding, conflict resolution, gender, youth and regional reconciliation in Africa.
She has also worked as a Technical Advisory intern at the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) South Africa in the Good Financial Governance (GFG) programme. Mathuto is passionate about community development and addressing socio-economic issues in the world. She aspires to work with philanthropists’ tackling human rights issues in rural communities.
Mlamli Tyhulu is a candidate attorney based in the LRC’s Cape Town office. He is currently pursuing a Master of Laws degree in Transnational Criminal Justice from the University of the Western Cape. Mlamli is a passionate activist who believes that he can meaningfully contribute to human rights law, through his love for justice, literature, and people.
Madile joined the LRC in October 2012 and has continued to support the organisation with all personnel related administrative duties ranging from recruitment to employee wellbeing and overall payroll and benefits support.
Moray is an attorney, notary and conveyancer with extensive experience in land reform, the law relating to traditional authorities and the right to housing and gender equality. He has in recent years worked intensely on cases and issues arising from the State Capture phenomenon and in cases on behalf of the families of victims of brutality at the hands of the former Security Branch of the apartheid regime, including cases of crimes under International Customary Law. He has been involved in litigation in the Magistrate's Courts, the Labour Court and Land Claims Court, the High Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court and in negotiations with government at municipal, provincial and central level as well as at ministerial level. He is a director of the Treatment Action Campaign and the Human Rights Institute of South Africa. He is a council member of Sedibeng TVET College. He spent 15 years working at the Legal Resource Centre before being appointed to found and head the Public Interest Law Unit at Webber Wentzel attorneys in 2003. He returned to practice as an attorney and to mentor junior lawyers at the LRC in January 2023. He was a director of the Rural Housing Loan Fund from May 1998 to 2012 (a not-for-profit company, incorporated for the purpose of providing wholesale finance to lenders for low-income rural housing). His expertise has been recognised by international research organisations including Legal 500 and Best Lawyers. He was African Attorney of the year for 2018 – partner level. Moray has BA and LLB degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Muyenga Mugerwa-Sekawabe (he/him) is an attorney based in the LRC’s Cape Town office. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences, a Bachelor of Laws, and a Master of Laws from the University of Cape Town (UCT). His LLM dissertation was on the enjoyment of the right to freedom of association by LGBT non-governmental organizations in Africa. Whilst completing his LLM, Muyenga worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Public Law at UCT where he taught International Law and Constitutional Law. Muyenga has also worked as an Associate Editor for the South African Journal on Human Rights. Muyenga is passionate about working in the public interest litigation sector and has a particular interest in Refugee, Children’s and LGBTQIA+ rights.”
Nicholas is responsible for Finance and is based in Johannesburg. He has a BSc from UCT and an MBA from Wits. Having started his career in IT he segued into finance and was financial director of an IT company for many years. He joined the LRC in 2019.
Nersan’s core focus is building high performing and impactful organisations. He has spent the better part of his career developing organisations that are performance and impact driven to realise their goals and objectives.
He has also worked in organisations that required a turnaround strategy, embedding strong strategic, structural change and governance principles. These were achieved in his work at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and currently at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), as well as other organisations in both voluntary and advisory capacities.
Ona is an attorney in both education and land programmes. She is based in the LRC’s Makhanda office. She holds an LLB from the University of Free State (UFS) and is currently completing her LLM, with a specialization in International Human Rights law, from the University of London (UoL). She has a passion for public interest litigation in the following areas: constitutional rights to education, Equality, discrimination, and security of land tenure.
Saadiyah is an attorney in the land programme. She is based in the LRC’s Cape Town office. She completed her LLB at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2017. From 2019-2020, she was a candidate attorney at the LRC. Saadiyah’ s area of focus includes the right of access to adequate housing as well as security of tenure.
Sandile Zwane is a grants management officer. His working career started in 2006 as a Durban office coordinator for Mictert Marketing Research. From 2010 to 2012, he was the Coordinator and Shared Learning Officer for the South African Reflect Network (SARN). He then worked as a researcher on the barriers to higher learning at the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation (CERT) at the University of Johannesburg between 2013 and 2016. He later joined Social Surveys Africa as a Field Manager from 2016 to 2018. Recently, he worked as a research assistant team leader at the Wits Health Consortium before joining the LRC.
Sandra has been an Administrator of the Durban office since 2012. Her responsibilities cover support services to the team.
Sandra believes that administration is the backbone of daily business operation, and a good manager makes it possible for other people to function efficiently.
Sanele is a Bachelor of Accounting graduate from the University of Johannesburg. He joined LRC in 2018 as a finance officer. He has just completed a certificate in Systems Development to upskill himself.
Shaatirah is passionate about children’s rights and the continued development to improve equal education for every child.
She is committed to enhancing social justice for aggrieved individuals.
She is also part of a mentorship program where she is a mentor for girl learners in the Riverlea area in Johannesburg as part of her service to communities.
Shaista is a finance officer at the Legal Resources Centre, she is an accountant with a passion for numbers and technology with many years of experience in the field. Throughout her career, she has worked with various organizations, ranging from small businesses to large corporations.
She combines her financial expertise with a growing knowledge of cloud architecture while she pursues her certification as an AWS Solutions Architect.
Her goal is to provide accurate financial information; help the organization make informed decisions; and contribute to their long-term success through sound financial management practices.
After graduating, Sharita commenced work with the legal division of a commercial bank before joining the Legal Resources Centre’s Fellowship Programme. She then registered as an articled clerk and on being admitted to the roll of attorneys, was invited to serve as an LRC attorney. Between 1995 and 2009 she litigated, advocated, trained, and published precedent setting family law and equality and anti-discrimination cases from a constitutional and socio-economic perspective. This included working with the Southern African Legal Assistance Network to train on equality and discrimination issues in Namibia, Malawi and Zambia; serving as a director on the board of Agenda – a feminist media project that advances publishing opportunities for black women writers; lecturing at the Workers College and training union members and factory workers on labour economics and workers’ rights and then working in partnership with Global Rights (Washington) and the Canadian Bar Association to provide strategic equality rights litigation training for lawyers from Southern Africa, the Maghreb and East Asia.
In 2010 Sharita commenced her private law practice specialising in labour; alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and family law and returned to the Legal Resources Centre as the regional director in Durban in 2016. She currently holds that position as well as co-leading the LRC Land Programme. She attributes her passion for public interest law and advocacy to her training by a generation of outstanding LRC lawyers and a deep interest in the intersection between race, class, gender, and the human rights axes. She remains committed to improving her contribution to benefit LRC clients.
Sheniece Linderboom studied her LLB degree at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. She was admitted as an attorney in 2012 and moved to Johannesburg in 2013 to pursue her interests in human rights litigation. She spent four years heading the Freedom of Expression Institute law clinic with a short stint as Acting Executive Director. In 2017 she joined SECTION27’s education rights programme and her work areas included the rights of learners with visual impairments, access to basic education, sexual violence in schools and education provisioning with a focus on sanitation and infrastructure. She joined the LRC’s education team in 2021 and is currently based in the Durban office, her work areas include early childhood development, literacy and sexual reproductive health rights and sexual violence in schools.”
Prior to joining the LRC Sherylle was the managing attorney of Harris, Nupen, Molebatsi Inc, a boutique law firm, specialising in public law, corporate law and alternative dispute resolution. Sherylle predominately practised Philanthropy Law at the firm servicing various non-profit organisations. Prior to this Sherylle was a senior attorney at the Equal Education Law Centre where she conducted research, public interest litigation and policy analysis focusing on the rights of children to basic education. From 2007 to 2013 she managed the Refugee and Migrant Rights Programme in Durban at Lawyers for Human Rights. She holds various positions on Boards of Non-Profit Organisations. She served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Sonke Gender Justice and an executive committee member on the Board of Refugee Social Services. In addition to her focus on the education programme, Sherylle drives the ‘agile’ strategy of the LRC.
Sindisiwe is an attorney in the land programme and is based in the LRC’s Durban office. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of KwaZulu Natal. Sindisiwe completed her articles at the LRC from 2016-2017 and prior to re-joining the LRC, she practiced as an attorney and also worked in office administration.
Sipesihle is the co-lead of the legacy programme and is based in the LRC’s Makhanda office. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Production from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of South Africa, which she obtained while teaching English in South Korea. Sipesihle joined the LRC in February 2019. Her practice focuses on mainly land, education, and access to justice. Prior to the LRC, she worked at the Rhodes University Law Clinic three years as a candidate attorney and a junior attorney. From 1 July – 30 September 2021, she was Acting Magistrate at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development at the Grahamstown Magistrate’s Court.
Thabo Ramphobole is a is an accomplished media and communications professional with a passion for creating captivating content and leveraging the power of various media platforms to engage and educate audiences of all ages. He has honed his skills in media production, content strategy, and audience engagement. Thabo is graduate of the Nelson Mandela University with a BA in Media, Communications and Culture. He also holds a master’s degree in media studies with a particular focus on the use of digital technologies for political communication by marginalized groups of people. Thabo has worked across a range of media disciplines, teaching modules in the fields of Film & Video Production, Newswriting, Broadcast Journalism and Contemporary Cultural Studies, with special focus on African Cultural Studies. He has also worked in the NGO sector as a Film and Media Specialist and the international private sector working as a Digital Media Specialist.
Toney Leong is an Information Technology developer with experience ranging from the manufacturing sector, motor industry, insurance sector and banking. Toney is currently responsible for customising an internationally recognised off-the-shelf software system to reflect LRC’s business processing requirements. Toney feels that his broad experience from the past is serving him well in terms of customising processes within the service industry
Topsy, joined the LRC in January 1993 as a personal assistant for a semi blind candidate attorney, Webster Sekwati, who was serving his articles at the LRC. She was appointed to be his personal aid and assisted him in preparation for his attorney admission examinations. Through her diligence and persistent hard work, she moved up the ranks. Topsy has completed practical training and short courses in financial and administration management, payroll administration diploma, and practical bookkeeping and taxation courses.
In November 1993, she was appointed as the office assistant in the National Office, which included relieving switchboard and screening clients at reception. She applied for the position of office administrator in July 2000, and thereafter worked as the Librarian assistant in 2006. She started working as payroll administrator in January 2008 doing all payroll and other finance related duties.
Tsukudu Moroeng is a Trainee Attorney at the Johannesburg Regional Office. He obtained his BA, LLB and LLM (cum laude) degrees at Rhodes University. He was previously a Teaching and Research Assistant and Lecturer at the Rhodes University Law Department. Before joining the LRC, he interned at the Makhanda office in 2019. He works in the Education, Land and Legacy Programme's with his primary focus being on issues such as public-school infrastructure and procurement, security of tenure, land restitution and redistribution and occupational injuries.
Tumelo is a Candidate Attorney in the Johannesburg office. She completed her LLB degree (with Distinction) from the University of Limpopo in 2022. She has keen interest in human rights and social justice. This is evident in her additional enrolment for an international exchange program with Unievangelica (Brazil) for human rights studies. She also completed a research project with University of Siena (Italy) on Global Social Justice. Tumelo currently works in the Education, Land and Legacy programmes at the LRC.
Wilmien Wicomb is the co-lead of the land programme and is based in the LRC’s Cape Town office. She specializes in land reform, African customary law, and community governance systems, in particular as it relates to community rights to natural resources such as land, fishing, and other extractives. She has been active in policy and law reform to further the democratization of rural communities, ensuring the equality of customary communities and enforcing their rights to determine their own development paths. She has published on customary law, the right to development and free, prior, and informed consent in the African context, and the rights of women living under customary systems.
Grants Management Officer and Programme Coordinator
Yoemna is the Programme Coordinator and Grants Management Officer in the Education Programme at the Legal Resources Centre. Yoemna has worked in the development sector for the past twenty-eight (28) years and has extensive experience in grant monitoring and donor relations, programme coordination, organisational development, monitoring and evaluation, just to mention a few. Yoemna holds an Honours Degree in Adult Education and Training and is currently completing her master’s degree in education.
Yanela has a BA Law and International Relations and an LLB at Wits. She did a 3-month internship at Lawyers For Human Rights and is also an Allan Gray Fellow.
The focus of Zi’s career has been Dispute Resolution, HR Industrial Relations and implementing systems; manual and automated. As Head of Case Management at the inception of the CCMA and later a Part- time conciliation commissioner, Zi gravitated towards operations and project management in the private and government sector. Other roles included secretariat duties in the Labour Market chamber of Nedlac, SARS HR special projects, BBBEE employee share ownership schemes for a private company, MEIBC project management under the auspices of Tokiso, COO at Tokiso and a number of projects involving ballots, elections, verification exercises in Southern Africa primarily in the mining sector.
She is currently involved in a team at LRC to customize an automated system to reflect LRC processes and strategies and finds it very rewarding.
Zulfa is an office administrator in the Cape Town office. She started her journey with the LRC in 2012 as a legal secretary, offering support services to the LRC’s Education Team. She has over 20 years of legal secretarial and administrative experience. For the past 3 years she has managed the Cape Town office as an office administrator.
“I believe that an office needs good managing and a team willing to work together to run efficiently.”
Executive Finance Director of the University of Cape Town
In the past he has worked as chief financial executive at Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (Pty) Ltd and was the co-founder and managing director of Biotech Fuels (Pty) Ltd.
Ashley has also worked as an independent consultant and was part of a turnaround team at Walter Sisulu University in the Eastern Cape.
Chris Stone is a Professor of Practice of Public Integrity at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government
He is an expert in institutional strategy and public-sector reform globally, with a special focus on systems of justice. From 2012 to 2017 Chris served as president of the Open Society Foundations (OSF), helping to strengthen civil society as a force for political pluralism in more than a hundred countries worldwide.
Prior to joining OSF, he was the Guggenheim Professor of the Practice of Criminal Justice at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he led both the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management and the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations.
Chris began his legal career in 1982 as a public defender in Washington, DC, and later helped found both the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and the New York State Capital Defender Office. From 1994 through 2004, he served as president of the Vera Institute of Justice, an incubator of innovation for the justice sector, expanding the Institute’s work with government reformers in the UK, South Africa, Russia, Nigeria, India, China, Chile, and Brazil.
He is the recipient of an honorary OBE for his contributions to criminal justice reform in the United Kingdom.
Joy-Marie Lawrence is a Lawyer, Businesswoman, Executive Integral Coach and Chartered Director
She has been a fellow of the Institute of Directors of South Africa since 2009. She is the founder and CEO of Boardvisory – a niche advisory firm specialising in Board-level engagements. Joy-Marie has been a trustee of the Legal Resources Centre since 2013.
She completed her legal articles at Webber Wentzel in 1998. Her corporate experience includes the Telecommunications sector (MTN Group), media and broadcasting (SA Broadcasting Corporation) and the IT sector (Business Connexion), with her last corporate role as group executive for EOH in Cape Town.
Her current directorships include non-executive director of WDB Investment Holdings, advisory board member of the UCT Graduate School of Business Advisory Board and non-executive director of TEKANO. She was previously one of the founding board members and subsequently the chair of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA).
Justice Lex Mpati is currently the Chancellor of Rhodes University, his alma mater.
Lex Mpati joined the Legal Resources Centre (Makhanda) as in-house counsel in 1989. He served as a judge in the Eastern Cape High Court from 1997 to 2000. He was later appointed as a judge of appeal for the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. He ascended to deputy president of the Supreme Court of Appeal and ultimately the president of the SCA from 2008 – 2017.
Lumka Mlambo is currently a fund principal at the SA SME Fund, a fund of funds manager focusing on supporting SMEs in South Africa.
Previously she was with investment holding company Identity Capital Partners and prior to that was part of the investment banking team at JPMorgan, both in the London and South African offices.
Lumka has served on numerous private sector and non-profit boards of directors.
Professor Michael Katz is a practicing attorney and chairman at Edward Nathan Sonnenberg (ENS) Africa.
Michael also teaches company law at Witwatersrand University. He has published numerous articles, chapters and papers on legal and fiscal topics and co-authored the Butterworths Company Law Precedents (four volumes) and South Africa’s contribution to the United Nations and Harvard University’s Corporate Law Tools Project. He is also a trustee of numerous trusts including the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Constitution Hill Trust, and the Constitutional Court Trust.
Ezra Davids is chairman of Corporate/Mergers and Acquisitions at Bowmans specialising in mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, and securities law.
Ezra is the most recent chairman of the Faculty Advisory Board of the Law School of the University of Cape Town. He is also a director of Freedom Under Law (a non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of the rule of law in Southern Africa), and a patron of the Student Sponsorship Programme (a non-profit organisation that places and enables academically talented, low income students to excel in South Africa’s best high schools).
Ezra was the first practising African lawyer to be featured on the front page of the American Lawyer.
Nersan’s core focus is building high performing and impactful organisations. He has spent the better part of his career developing organisations that are performance and impact driven to realise their goals and objectives.
He has also worked in organisations that required a turnaround strategy, embedding strong strategic, structural change and governance principles. These were achieved in his work at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and currently at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), as well as other organisations in both voluntary and advisory capacities.
Thandi is a lawyer by profession and is one of the founders of Peotona Group Holdings. She has held the office of the National Director of both the Independent Mediation Service of SA (IMSSA) and the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). She was also a senior partner and director at the commercial law firm Routledge Modise, now known as Hogan Lovell.
Thandi is involved in various community initiatives, directorships on boards and was a non-executive director of the South African Reserve Bank amongst others. While practising as an attorney at the LRC in the 1980/90’s she focused on litigation against the apartheid state.
“I remain committed to the idea that by holding individuals and institutions accountable we can build an empowered society in which the Constitutional rights of all who live in South Africa are upheld and the promise of the 1994 democratic transition can be realised.”
– Nersan Govender, Executive Director
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