Registered Students

DOCTORAL CANDIDATES (LLD)

Ms T Chinyamurindi 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelma-chinyamurindi-973577b7/

Thelma is a Zimbabwean born LLD student at SARCIL. She completed her BA (Law), LLB and LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Military Operations at the University of Pretoria. Her research focuses on humanitarian assistance in armed conflict which she explored from the lens of the global COVID-19 pandemic in her masters and she is now looking at the issue of consent to such aid in NIAC’s. She serves as SARCIL’s research and administrative assistant but has held the role of researcher and project officer for the African Coalition for Corporate Accountability and as an intern for the ICRC (Pretoria regional delegation).

Ms D Crafford

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-crafford-9b66061a2/

Ms Z Hlatshwayo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zinhle-hlatshwayo/

Zinhle holds a BA (Law), LLB and LLM from the University of Pretoria. She is currently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Johannesburg. Her research examines the protection of women and girls under Non-State Armed Groups’ territorial control in NIAC’s.

Ms K Muller

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyla-m%C3%BCller/

Kyla is a doctoral candidate in international law, with a specific interest and focus on Counter-Terrorism, Non-International Armed Conflicts and the link between the two. She has a masters degree in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Military Operations, wherein her research focussed on the Prohibition of Terrorism under International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law. She is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa and has interned at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Lawyers for Human Rights and the Public Prosecutor in the Pretoria Magistrates Court.

Ms M Van Schalkwyk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mvschalkwyk/

Megan van Schalkwyk works as the Legal Programme Officer at the ICRC Pretoria Regional Delegation, where she provides support to the Delegation’s activities related to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) specifically working with the Armed and Security Forces and IHL departments. Currently, she is pursuing her Doctor of Laws (LLD) in International Law at the University of Johannesburg under the supervision of Professors Hennie Strydom and Martha M. Bradley at the South African Research in International Law (SARCIL). Her research focuses on the role and regulation of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) and their activities during armed conflict.  Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and a Master of Laws (LLM) in IHL and Human Rights in Military Operations from the University of Pretoria.

Mrs S Mabeza

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-mabeza-nee-swart-24165761/

Since February 2009 Sarah Mabeza has been employed at the Pretoria Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross, firstly as a Legal Assistant and, from November 2011, as the Regional Legal Advisor.  In this post, she supports 12 African governments in their implementation of International Humanitarian Law.  Sarah is currently researching the elements vital to a successful and symbiotic partnership between government and civil society in the development of International Humanitarian Law, focussing on lessons learnt from post-Apartheid South Africa.

Sarah is married to Kundai and has a 5-year-old son, David, a 4 year-old daughter, Rebekah, and a 1 year-old son, James

Ms C Davids

Clerissa Davids is a doctoral candidate at the University of Johannesburg’s SARCHIL. She holds a BA in Psychology and BA Honours in Communication studies from the UJ. Clerissa completed her LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand. She obtained her LLM in International Law from the UJ. Her current LLD research focuses on Cyber Warfare and determining the legal framework applicable to the spread of misinformation and disinformation in cyberspace during armed conflict.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Clerissa serves as the Marketing Manager at UJ’s Faculty of Science. She is an active member of both UJ’s Transformation Committee and the Community Engagement Committee, where she works to create an inclusive and supportive university environment. Through her role in community engagement, she contributes to initiatives that strengthen ties between the university and the broader community, promoting meaningful collaboration and social impact.

Mr AT Klopper

https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonieklopper/

Antonie is a second year doctoral candidate with a special interest in Genocide Prevention. He completed his BCom(Law), LLB (cum laude), LLM (cum laude) at the University of Pretoria. Antonie is a practicing Attorney and Conveyancer of the High Court of South Africa.

Antonie completed his Masters Thesis on The Responsibility to Protect and the obligations of states to prevent genocide. Antonie’s doctoral studies also relate to genocide prevention, but with a focus on the obligations of states that flow from the concept of ‘due diligence’ and how it impacts ‘fragile states’.

Mr MAW Ncube

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbongeni-aw-ncube-a342b6126/

Mbongeni is a doctoral candidate in International law, his research interest is focused on examining the applicable data protection framework regulating Humanitarian Organisations in their collection , sharing and use of data in humanitarian action. Mbongeni holds a BA (Law), LLB (cum laude) and an LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in Military Operations from the University of Pretoria. He has previously interned at the United Nations World Food Programme.

Ms S Dhlamini

linkedin.com/in/sihle-dhlamini-0783b9102

Sihle Dhlamini is a doctoral candidate specializing in International Humanitarian Law. Her research focuses on human trafficking in armed conflicts.
She is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and holds a BA (Law), LLB, and LLM from the University of Pretoria. She works as a Legal Research Associate at LexisNexis.
Her commitment to counter-human trafficking is reflected in her work with organizations such as Scalabrini, where she served as Head Legal Advisor on a dedicated anti-trafficking project. She continues to advance this cause as Research Coordinator at the National Freedom Network. She also actively engages in community outreach, delivering school talks and public education initiatives that raise awareness on human trafficking.
Beyond her legal career, Sihle is a Certified Professional Life Coach and Founder of the Women’s Self-Development Club in Mbombela, a network dedicated to supporting women in their personal and professional growth journeys.

Ms. Alina-Camille Berdefy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/camille-berdefy-ll-m-4881852b4/

Camille is a doctoral candidate in international law at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), supervised by Dr. Charissa Fawole and Professor Martha Bradley. Her research focuses on the protection of internally displaced persons in situations of non-international armed conflict, with a primary emphasis on the African context. She holds an LL.B. from the University of Potsdam, Germany, where she also completed her First German State Examination. Camille holds an LL.M. in international law from UJ. In her master’s thesis, she explored the protection of IDP women under the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention).

Ms. Kate Metzer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-metzer-b92a02247

Kate is an LLD candidate in International Law at the University of Johannesburg, specializing in naval warfare and international accountability. She holds an LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (cum laude) and an LLB from the University of Pretoria. Kate currently serves as the Director of the Global Accountability Network (GAN) in Africa and has extensive experience in legal research and international investigations, including roles with the Ukraine Accountability Project and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights.