Three Pretoria Students Begin Semester at SoL

The School of Law (SoL) welcomed three students from the University of Pretoria, South Africa to undertake a semester of study as part of the LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA) programme.

The students are Ms Chikondi Nyirenda of Zambia, Ms Aya Ghazy of Egypt, and Ms Ansela Sloman of South Africa. Their semester at SoL forms part of the HRDA programme’s regional exchange component, which exposes students to different African legal and human rights perspectives.

The HRDA programme is coordinated by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria and delivered in partnership with 12 leading African universities, including Makerere University. Students spend their first semester at the University of Pretoria before undertaking their second semester at a partner institution, preferably in a sub-region different from their country of origin.

During her time at SoL, Ms Ghazy will research “The Digitalisation of Non-Entry: AI, Data Flows and the Externalisation of European Migration Control in Africa,” under the supervision of Professor Ronald Naluwairo. Her academic interests include international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law, with particular attention to the African human rights system, TWAIL, colonial legacies in international law, and African-centred approaches to human rights and democratisation.

Ms Nyirenda will focus her research on the Right to health of children born in prison supervised by Dr. Zahara Nampewo. Her academic interests centre on human rights, particularly the protection and advancement of women’s and children’s rights, and the use of law, policy and advocacy to safeguard vulnerable groups.

Ms Sloman supervised by Dr. Benson Tusasirwe will focus her research on Spatial apartheid and the right to the city: an analysis of the City of Cape Town’s housing policies in light of the Commando and Adonisi decisions. Her research interests span jurisprudence on socio-economic rights, constitutional property law and land reform, freedom of expression, anti-corruption and good governance, and environmental law.

The students’ presence at SoL strengthens the University’s longstanding engagement with the HRDA programme and contributes to the exchange of ideas, research and perspectives across African legal institutions.