Staff

Amina Mwaikambo

Amina Mwaikambo is a Psychosocial Trauma Professional at the CSVR Trauma Clinic. She holds a Master's degree in Community-based Counselling Psychology and is pursuing a PhD at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her areas of focus include working with survivors of violence-related trauma, continuous- and post-traumatic stress, and mood- and personality-related impairments. She has a particular interest in research around the intersections of inequality, identity and violence, and is an enthusiast for raising awareness of mental health services and promoting psychosocial wellbeing.

Aneesa Hassen

Aneesa Hassan is a Senior Administrator 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 Fellow 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).

Boikanyo Moloto

Boikanyo Moloto is an Industrial Sociologist/Researcher who holds an MA Industrial Sociology (Cum Laude) degree from the University of Johannesburg. Her academic interests range from gender studies, urban sociology and violence and conflict to strengthening legislatures and capacity building through evidence use, labour law and the lived experiences of workers in the South African context, as well as the world at large. Furthermore, she has a keen interest in protests, strikes, collective action and labour movements. Boikanyo was previously affiliated to the Centre for Social Change, based at the University of Johannesburg, and the Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results–Anglophone Africa (CLEAR–AA), based at the University of Witwatersrand. Her goal is to use academia as a catalyst to contribute towards effective, context specific, social change. "I am here to disrupt the status quo!"

Charlotte Motsoari

Charlotte Motsoari is a qualified and registered social worker with an Honours degree (BSW) in Social Work from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She is currently working as a Mental Health and Psychosocial Practitioner within the clinical programme at CSVR. She provides psychosocial support and therapeutic services to victims of war trauma and torture, SGBV and other gross human rights violations. Part of her work involves advocating for clients' access to social and legal services with the aim of promoting holistic wellbeing. Her professional interests are focused on providing trauma-informed MHPSS to individuals, groups and communities, as well as the integration of contextually relevant MHPSS interventions within processes of rehabilitation from human rights violations. She also has an interest in child and youth trauma-informed interventions that seek to address issues of transgenerational transmission of trauma. In her work at CSVR, she has had the opportunity to provide training, debriefing and supervision support to students and partner organisations on trauma-informed interventions and self-care.

Gaudence Uwizeye

Gaudence Uwizeye is a Mental Health and Psychosocial Practitioner at CSVR, with 20 years' experience. She has been working with refugees and migrants in the mental health sector, providing rehabilitation and redress to those impacted by human rights violations through war, conflict and torture at the individual, family, group and community levels in South Africa and around Africa. She has provided capacity building, debriefing, group interventions, supervision and mentorship to mental health psychosocial support workers and human rights activists. She has also enhanced coalitions among citizens and non-nationals, and facilitated integration among communities. She advocates for the mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of marginalised communities.

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.

Gugulethu Resha

Gugulethu Resha is a Researcher with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She holds an MSc in Philosophy and Public Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelors and Honours from Stellenbosch University in Humanities and Philosophy, respectively. Her research interests lie in social policy for poverty reduction, democratic inclusivity and unpacking and addressing social, political and economic exclusion.

Hazel Tau

Hazel Tau is the Finance Manager at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Jasmina Brankovic

Dr. Jasmina Brankovic is the Senior Research Specialist at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and the Acting co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Transitional Justice. 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.

Katlego Mangesi

Katlego Mangesi is a Human Resources Intern at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She has an N6 Certificate in HRM from the Central Johannesburg College (TVET).

Lesego Sekhu

Lesego Sekhu is a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She is a Justice and Transformation Honours Graduate from the University of Cape Town. Her research interests include transitional justice with the particular focus in Africa, conflict and violence, conflict resolution, transnational feminism(s), and gender studies.

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.

Malose Langa

Prof. Malose Langa is an Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in the School of Community and Human Development, Department of Psychology, at the University of Witwatersrand and Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Recompilation. His research interests include risk-taking behaviours among the youth and their role in politics, the Community Work Programme, substance abuse and addiction, the trauma of collective violence and the psychology of men (masculinity) in post-apartheid South Africa. He has published book chapters and journal articles on violence and other topics on masculinities. He is the author of "Becoming Men: Black Masculinities in a South African Township" (2020).

Mandisa Tindleni

Mandisa Tindleni is the Office Assistant at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation.

Modiegi Merafe

Modiegi Merafe is a Senior Community Practitioner at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. He has worked mainly with South African ex-combatants, victims of violence and youth at risk. He has collaborated with communities on preventing violence and addressing its consequences, focusing on gender-based violence, state-sponsored violence, youth violence, collective violence and peacebuilding.

Mpfareleni Mabidi

Mpfareleni Mabidi holds a BSC in Psychological Counselling from the University of South Africa. She has five years' experience in working with communities and doing psychosocial work through psychosocial wellness trainings, capacity building, facilitating trainings and dialogues, offering emotional support and basic counselling to clients. Mpfareleni provides wellness trainings to victims of torture, trauma, war, SGBV and collective violence (xenophobic attacks). She also provides supervision to community psychosocial supporters (volunteers) who work in the community and mobilise community members and form partnerships with other stakeholders within communities. She is currently in capturing, monitoring and analysing data in the M&E team within CSVR. Her interests lie in working with different communities (migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and South African communities) who have experienced extreme violence at different levels: individual, group, community and family.

Nonsikelelo Ncube

Nonsikelelo Ncube is Senior Advocacy Officer at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree from the University of South Africa and is currently pursuing her postgraduate studies. Her passion lies in gender and human rights work. She is part of the Pillar 5 (Economic Power) working group of the National Strategic Plan on gender-based violence. This pillar seeks to "address the economic vulnerabilities that women face making them more vulnerable to GBV both by partners and the system and to address deeper structural drivers that gives rise to women's social and economic position and required targeted accelerated efforts to transform."

Nyaradzo Pariola

Nyaradzo Machingambi-Pariola is an Advocacy Specialist at CSVR. She is a human rights lawyer and a peace and security scholar. She has considerable transitional justice and peacebuilding, conflict and development research experience gained from a Post-Graduate Peace and Security Research Fellowship at Kings College, London and subsequent research consultancies that she has undertaken. She worked as a Research Consultant for The UNHCR Regional Liaison Office for Africa in Addis Ababa, for UN Women, Mozambique and for The ICJ. She has undertaken extensive research on gender justice in post-conflict Africa.

She was the Head of Office for Lawyers for Human Rights, Durban and the Director of the Refugee Rights Project at the UCT Law Clinic. She lectured Administrative Law and Interpretation of Statutes at NMMU. She was an EXCO member of the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs in South Africa and was an Expert Participant at the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Hearings of the Global Commission on International Migration. She has a BA in Sociology, LLB and an LLM in International Human Rights and Refugee Law from UCT. She is a Fellow of the prestigious Tutu Leadership Program run by the African Leadership Institute (AfLI), Oxford University.

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.

Sibonelo Mavuso

Sibonelo is currently a MSocSc candidate specialising in Political Communications.

Prior to this she completed her honours degree in Communications Science and Media Studies (Cum laude). She is anchored by the belief that effective communication is a tool in building a bridge between different members of society, through meditation and the appropriate use of communication channels. It is this belief that has led Sibonelo to pursue her undergraduate BA degree in English and Communication science which she completed Cum Laude. Through her work in communications, she hopes to foster change and empower others. She further hopes to share her knowledge that she has acquired through her very first qualification which was in Events Management with a key focus on Public Relations and Marketing. Through learning and growing in experience Sibonelo hopes to contribute to the school of communications and emphasise the importance of using the right communication channels for the right audience to foster understanding

Stacy Norman-Hector

Sumaiya Mohamed

Sumaiya Mohamed is a Mental Health and Psychosocial Specialist at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. She holds a Master's degree in Community Based Counselling Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Sumaiya has 13 years' experience working in the field of mental health and trauma. She provides psychotherapeutic services to trauma and torture survivors (individuals, groups and families) as well as mental health and psychosocial support workshops in communities nationally and regionally. She provides supervision support to mental health practitioners who provide trauma counselling. An advocate for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, her research interests include exploring the systematic impact of trauma and understanding expressions of mental health and rehabilitation in relation to social contexts.

Tsamme Mfundisi

Tsamme Mmammone Mfundisi is a Community Practitioner at CSVR. She has a diploma in Community Development and Leadership from the University of Johannesburg and completed the short course on Project Management through UNISA. She works on issues of sexual and gender-based violence and advocating for a better system in that regard, and has also being part of the Gender Focal Points at CSVR. She has 13 years' experience in the community development field and working closely with different community stakeholders and networks in South Africa, as well as the region, particularly Zimbabwe. Tsamme is currently working in the Marikana Wonderkop community in North West Province, South Africa. Above all, in her work with CSVR, she has had the opportunity to provide training, debriefing and supervision support to community partners and organisations on trauma-informed interventions and self-care. She has also presented at different symposia and conferences, including the PSYSSA conference.

Tsholofelo Nakedi

Tsholofelo Nakedi is the Community Specialist at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, with more than a decade of experience working in communities. She is passionate about working with the grassroots in violence prevention interventions and reconciliation efforts. She works with individuals and groups affected by violence and conflict, including victims and survivors of torture and other forms of trauma, organised violence, youth and school violence, and domestic and gender-based violence, as well as internally displaced people, forced migrants and military veterans. As a human rights and peacebuilding practitioner, a large component of Tsholofelo's daily work is dedicated to understanding the root causes and various manifestations of collective and urban violence and designing interventions to address these within communities. She holds a BA in psychological counselling from Commonwealth Open University. She is also an alumna of the US State Department's International Visitors Leadership Program and of the Norwegian Agency for Exchange Cooperation.