Prof Tshepo Madlingozi
Adjunct Professor
Trained in law and sociology, Madlingozi is a scholar-activist whose work lies at the intersection of decolonisation, reparative justice, human rights, and participatory democracy. In 2024, the President of South Africa appointed Madlingozi as a full-time Commissioner at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), an independent constitutional body. At the SAHRC, he is responsible for the Anti-racism, Education, and Equality focal areas. Before joining the Commission, he was the Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS)—a law clinic and research centre—at the University of the Witwatersrand and an Associate Professor at the university's School of Law, where he taught social justice and human rights. For over ten years, he worked for and with the Khulumani Support Group—a social movement advocating for reparations, redress, and sustainable reconciliation—serving as Advocacy Coordinator and later as Chairperson.
He is a co-editor of Symbol or Substance: Socio-economic Rights in South Africa (Cambridge UP) and of 'Introduction to Law and Legal Skills in South Africa, 2nd Edition' (Oxford UP South Africa). He has been a consultant to local and intergovernmental organisations, including the Pan-African Parliament and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is an Extraordinary Professor at the Faculty of Law, Stellenbosch University, an Adjunct Professor with the Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation at Nelson Mandela University, a Visiting Professor at the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, and a faculty member at the Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights.