Dr. Solomon Ayele Dersso

Dr. Solomon Ayele Dersso is a Commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the African Union's premier human rights body, and Chair of the Working Group on Extractive Industries in Africa. Dr. Dersso is also an Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Transitional Justice. In the area of transitional justice, he serves as focal point of the African Commission on Transitional Justice and Human Rights in Africa and led the drafting of the final draft of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy. He is a non-faculty Assistant Professor of human rights at the School of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University. Dr. Dersso heads Amani Africa Media and Research Services, a policy research and consulting think tank in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dr. Dersso received an LLB from the School of Law, Addis Ababa University; an LLM from the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; and a PhD from the School of Law, University of Witwatersrand.

Simangele Mayisela

Dr. Simangele Mayisela is a registered Educational Psychologist, qualified from University of the Witwatersrand. She previously worked for the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre and for CSVR as a trauma practitioner. Currently she is in private practice and is the Director of Elegnams Human Development Services, a life skills development institution.

Nokukhanya (Nox) Ntuli

Nokukhanya (Nox) Ntuli is a South African lawyer, mediator and process facilitator. Prior to joining the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) (part of the World Bank Group), she worked as a Constitutionalism and Rule of Law Expert in the Department of Political Affairs at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. She has extensive legal experience in corporate, intellection property, labour and public policy law. She also has mediation experience and has mediated commercial, employment, land, community, small claims and electoral disputes. Nox has lived and worked the United States, Britain, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Liberia, Ethiopia and South Africa in the private, public, non-profit and multi-national environment, practicing law and mediation. She has also conducted short-term projects in Malawi, Botswana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.  

She holds a Post Graduate Fellowship on Peace and Security from Kings College London and the African Leadership Centre, an LLM in Corporate Law from Nottingham Trent University, an LLB Honours from the University of Wolverhampton and a Certificate in Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. She is an ADR Group (UK) Accredited Mediator, has served on the boards of several non-governmental organisations, and is currently a Board Member at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and Friends of Bulungula in South Africa. She also volunteers as a mediator for the District Court of Maryland Alternative Dispute Resolution Office. 

Tefo Raditapole

Tefo Raditapole is the Chairperson of the board of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. He holds an LLB and is a practicing lawyer and Director of Cheadle Thompson & Haysom. He sits on the board of the Ombudsman for Banking Services. He is also Chairperson of the board of the Credit Ombudsman and Commissioner for the 1st Commission of Employment Equity. In the past he has acted on behalf of the ANC and COSATU.

Prudence Malefu Madlokazi

Prudence Malefu Madlokazi is the Founder and Director of Mwanga Fiduciary Services (Pty) Ltd. Malefu has 16 years of experience in financial services, specialising in fiduciary services and employee benefits. She has in-depth knowledge in estate planning, specialising in trusts. Malefu started off as a Trust Accountant at PriceWaterhouse Coopers Inc. and then moved to Alexander Forbes as a Trust Consultant. She then moved to Standard Trust, specialising in trust management with a R1.4 billion portfolio of assets. Malefu's involvement with the industry follows years of study, picking up a variety of qualifications and worthwhile corporate experience. Malefu is a Certified Financial Planner with the FPI and a member of the Fiduciary Institute of South Africa (FISA). She started her own business of Fiduciary Services with the intention to change the game of how settlement trusts are managed and utilised for the rehabilitation of beneficiaries. Her passion is sharing her expertise of estate planning with people from all walks of life, especially the importance of having a will. 

Annah Moyo-Kupeta

Annah Moyo-Kupeta is the Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR). Ms. Moyo-Kupeta is a human rights lawyer with extensive experience working in the legal, transitional justice, human rights, peace and security, gender, and violence prevention fields. She has developed a number of soft law instruments for various target audiences from policymakers, peer CSO groups, and victim groups. Her expertise in peace and security, transitional justice, and post-conflict transformation has found expression through her presentations and briefings on high-level platforms involving governments, embassies, academia, policymakers, and CSOs at national, regional, continental, and global levels.

Dr. Khabele Matlosa

Dr. Khabele Matlosa is the author of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which was adopted by the AU on 30 January 2007 and came into force in 2012 following its ratification by 15 Member States of the AU. Working with two other African experts, he researched and co-authored the AU Panel of the Wise report on Election-Related Disputes and Political Violence: Strengthening the Role of the African Union in Preventing, Managing and Resolving Conflict.

This report was adopted by the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the AU in Kampala, Uganda, in 2009. He provided technical leadership to the AUC's Department of Political Affairs during the development of the AUTJP, which was adopted in 2019. He holds a PhD in political economy from the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, and a post-graduate diploma in conflict resolution from the University of Uppsala, Sweden.

He is the former Governance Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme, Regional Service Centre for Africa, Addis Ababa, and a former Director, Department of Political Affairs, AU Commission, Addis Ababa. He is the Visiting Professor at the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadership, University of Johannesburg.

Annah Moyo-Kupeta

Annah Moyo-Kupeta is the Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR). Ms. Moyo-Kupeta is a human rights lawyer with extensive experience working in the legal, transitional justice, human rights, peace and security, gender, and violence prevention fields. She has developed a number of soft law instruments for various target audiences from policymakers, peer CSO groups, and victim groups. Her expertise in peace and security, transitional justice, and post-conflict transformation has found expression through her presentations and briefings on high-level platforms involving governments, embassies, academia, policymakers, and CSOs at national, regional, continental, and global levels.

Gugu Shabalala

Gugu Shabalala is the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) Manager at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She is a trained social worker and mental health and psychosocial professional with 15 years' experience working in the mental health sector. She has a particular focus on rehabilitation and redress for those affected by human rights violations through war, conflict and torture and their impact on the overall mental well-being of individuals, families, groups and communities.

Mary Izobo

Mary Izobo is an International Human Rights Lawyer, Gender Equality Advocate and Governance Expert. She is the Advocacy Programme Manager for the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) where she leads the Advocacy strategy implementation, manages all projects within advocacy and the organization and creates synergy and collaboration between advocacy programmes and the work of other programmes at local, regional, and global levels.  She coordinates stakeholder management across the organization and uses her expertise in the field to profile the organization's work nationally, regionally and globally.  

Ms Izobo is also currently studying for a Doctor of Laws (LLD) with a focus on international law and governance. Before that, she obtained a Master of Laws (LLM) in Rule of Law for Development from Loyola University Chicago, United States of America, and another Master of Laws (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom; a Barrister at Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, Nigeria, and a Bachelor of Arts (BA Hons) in French Language from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.  

She was the Legal Advisor for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an organ of the African Union (AU), and has worked for the United Nations (UN), the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the Institute for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA). She has consulted for various multi-national corporations and governments inter alia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she supported the establishment of Nigeria's National Governing Council and the development of Nigeria's Country Review Self-Assessment Report. She possesses vast knowledge in practical and diplomatic legal experience in statute drafting and electoral observation having provided legal and technical expertise to several countries such as Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Sudan, and Cote d'Ivoire. 

Ms Izobo is a 2023 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow and a 2023 Alumnae of the International Visitors Leadership Programme of the United States of America Department of State. She is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She is the recipient of various academic awards and won various accolades in recognition of her work. Notably, Africa's Top Legal Millennial – The Amazon of Women's Rights, Kaduna State Honours Award for public service in Nigeria, SPE Top Pathfinder and Futurist Activist. 

Liezelle Kumalo

Liezelle Kumalo is the Gender Specialist at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She is working on understanding the drivers and root causes of gender-based violence within communities in South Africa to prevent future occurrences of violence. She previously conducted research on the women, peace and security agenda in 14 African countries at different levels of the peace continuum. Central to her work is showcasing women's perspectives to policymakers and support work to identify, empower and build resiliencies of women. Liezelle has a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Witwatersrand. She holds a bachelor's degree in Politics and Economics from the University of Johannesburg.

Aneesa Hassen

Aneesa Hassan is an Administration Officer within the Operations Department. She provides administrative and logistical support to the projects and programmes in the organisation.

Athini Magodla

Athini Magodla is a Gender Assistant at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and a Gender Studies Master's candidate at the University of Cape. His research interests include Black masculinity, violence, deconstruction and decoloniality, as well as gender mainstreaming and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Bobuin Jr Valery

Bobuin Jr Valery is an advocacy specialist. His work spans across influencing policy makers at regional, continental and global level to incorporate of transitional justice tools at the expense of overly militaristic/securitised approaches in the global response to  addressing radicalism and violent extremism. He also  looks to build relationships and develop the capacity of states, regional and continental organisations on exploiting the enormous potential of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy not only for conflicts but also as an effective tool for dealing with governance deficits and developmental challenges.

Before joining CSVR, Bobuin was research assistant to the Chair of the UN Working Group on People of African Descent. He also served in various positions at the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA).

Bobuin possesses two Masters Degrees in Law, and is currently awaiting graduation for a PhD in Constitutional Law from the University of the Free State, South Africa. In 2023 he was appointed joint AU/UN Migration Youth Ambassador to Central Africa, participating in high level discussions globally, while pushing an agenda of transitional justice in migration governance. He has managed projects in the Sahel Region, relating to violent extremism in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, engaging with multiple stakeholders including states, regional bodies, civil society and traditional authorities. He has also been involved in advocacy work in Sudan, Cameroon, Somalia, The Gambia, South Sudan, amongst others. On the issues of transitional justice and constitutionalism, Bobuin has amassed a substantial body of written works. Bobuin has research and advocacy interests in the areas of transitional justice, transformative constitutionalism, constitutional democracy, and the rule of law.

Cathy-Ann

Cathy-Ann is the Legal Officer in the Advocacy Team at CSVR. She had previously worked at CSVR as a Research Fellow in 2022. She is an admitted attorney and holds an MPhil in Justice and Transformation. Her thesis looked at the capacity of the law to effect transformation in the South African mining industry through the lens of the Nkala class action. Her fields of interest include corporate accountability for human rights violations, corporate social responsibility and policy change, human rights, gender rights, and transitional justice.

Gugu Nonjinge

Gugu Nonjinge is an external communications and advocacy professional with extensive experience in the social policy sector. Her areas of interest are gender justice and climate justice. As an NDP2030 ambassador, her personal work through her foundation is focused on the holistic development of the African girl child and active inclusion of the youth demographic at all levels of governance. She also works to shine a gendered lens on climate change mitigation policies on the African continent. Gugu has been recognised by the British High Commission in South Africa as a woman leading on climate change activism ahead of COP26. She has also received awards such as the Social Cohesion and Civil Society Main Award by the National Youth Development Agency, and recognition as a MaSisulu Woman of Fortitude by the Department of Energy for her work on gender justice.

Jasmina Brankovic

Dr. Jasmina Brankovic is Senior Research Adviser at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. With a focus on participatory methods, she conducts research on inequality and socioeconomic transformation, climate justice, gender in conflict, and civil society strategies for social change in transitional contexts. Jasmina is co-author of Violence, Inequality and Transformation: Apartheid Survivors on South Africa's Ongoing Transition (2020) and The Global Climate Regime and Transitional Justice (2018) and co-editor of Advocating Transitional Justice in Africa: The Role of Civil Society (2018). She has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Marburg (Centre for Conflict Studies).

Lindokuhle Malambe

Lindokuhle Malambe is a dynamic young South African professional with a Master's degree in Health Promotion in Psychology. Currently serving as a Gender Assistant at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), she channels her expertise and fervour into advocating for human rights, healthcare, women's empowerment, and peace and security, with a special focus on marginalized communities. Lindokuhle has been instrumental in violence prevention efforts at various levels, from the community to the continental stage, utilizing diverse platforms to share African expertise. Through her research and advocacy work addressing gender-based violence (GBV), she has cultivated networks and partnerships to combat this pervasive issue. Lindokuhle's dedication to addressing societal challenges has garnered recognition, including her participation in the Young African Leadership Initiative Training (YALI), where she collaborates with other young experts from the SADC region. Additionally, she has been recognized for her involvement in the African Youth for Transitional Justice Training and currently part of the Youth Organisation for Research and Advocacy (YORJA), promoting social and sustainable change through research and engaging youth in post-conflict reconstruction and transitional justice endeavours.

Naledi Joyi

Naledi is a gender officer at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Her work focuses on gender dynamics within communities affected by violence. Her research interests include Gender studies, diversity equity and inclusion, human security, women peace and security, and the effects of hegemonic masculinity in African communities. Naledi is responsible for organisational collaboration, gender mainstreaming, and support for all programs at CSVR. Her responsibilities include participating in developing and implementing CSVR's gender strategy at national, continental, and international levels. Supporting the implementation of the gender strategy through policy making and implementation, capacity building and technical support, and raising public awareness. Contributing to maintaining partnerships and network building/social mobilisation. Providing capacity building for gender mainstreaming at national, continental, and international levels.

Naledi holds a master's degree in Critical Diversity Studies. She holds an Honors in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts double major in Psychology and Media Studies. Before joining the civil society, Naledi worked as a research assistant at Wits Psychology Department, Wits Health Consortium, and the Chicago School of Psychology.

Patience Mazwi

Patience is the Senior Human Resources Officer at the Centre for the Study of Violence & Reconciliation. She holds a BCom Honours degree from the University of the Witwatersrand and is a registered member of the South African Board For People Practices (SABPP). She has ten years multidisciplinary human resources experience with emphasis on recruitment, remuneration and benefits, learning and development, performance management, policy development, compliance and wellness.

Stacy Norman-Hector

Zenele Zondo

Zanele Zondo is a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She is a social worker by training.