Bongani Christopher Majola is an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

of the

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical ...

, an academic, human rights scholar, and the previous Assistant Secretary-General of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). He currently serves as the

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...

Academic background

South African studies

Bongani Majola did his studies in law at the

University of Zululand The University of Zululand or UniZulu is the only comprehensive tertiary educational institution north of the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its new status is in accordance with South Africa's National Plan for Higher Education ...

and obtained a Public Service Law Diploma in 1975, a Public Service Senior Law Certificate in 1977 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LLB) degree in 1982. From 1982 to 1988 he was a senior lecturer and the

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

of Law at the University of Bophuthatswana where he was responsible for teaching law courses to

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...

and

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

students. Majola then became a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and the dean of the law faculty at the University of the North from 1989 to 1996.

International studies

Majola obtained a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(LLM) degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1988. In 1990 he spent time at the School of Advanced International Studies at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, as a visiting professor, and in 1993/4 he was at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

as a research fellow.

Career

Early career

Majola's career began as an Administrative Clerk and Clerk of the Magistrate's Court from 1971 to 1974 in the

Madadeni Madadeni is a town in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which falls under Amajuba District Municipality Amajuba is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of Amajuba is Newcastle. The majority of its 468,040 people sp ...

district in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, where he conducted "mostly government clerical work including collection of revenue, population registration, writing reports and labour matters." His experience with criminal trials started in Madadeni when he was appointed the District Court Magistrate from 1977 to 1979, following which he was seconded to the Institute for Public Service Training at the University of Zululand as a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

and lecturer from 1979 to 1982 - which also coincided with his studies at the university. Majola served as a legal adviser to Theme Committee 3 of the South African

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that was responsible for drafting the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

in 1995.

Legal Resources Centre

After his academic career Majola moved to

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

in 1996 where he was appointed the National Director of the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), which is a non-profit public interest law organisation that defends poor and marginalised people in South Africa. During his time at the LRC he was involved with the

Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...

in 2002 in relation to the "constitutional provisions dealing with the right of access by poor people to medical ealthcare." In December 2000 Majola was elected to the board of the South African arm of the

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...

by billionaire and philanthropist George Soros. On the 21st anniversary of the LRC, Majola wrote an article about the significant contributions made by the LRC to the "development of a human rights jurisprudence and the strengthening of constitutional democracy" in South Africa.

United Nations

ICTR Deputy Chief Prosecutor

In January 2003 Majola left the LRC to become the Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the UN ICTR headquartered in Arusha,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. His work included supporting the Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow in "the prosecution of suspects indicted for international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

of 1994." In a report by the Institute of Security Studies on the investigation and prosecution of international crimes, Majola wrote an article on the work of the ICTR and the challenges pertaining to the prosecution of persons accused of "genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes".

ICTR Assistant Secretary-General

After 10 years as the Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR, Majola was appointed by Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...

, as the Assistant Secretary-General of the UN and Registrar of the ICTR. His role as Registrar was to support the organs of the ICTR, which are the judges, the Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor. His duties also included being the head of the ICTR administration where he provided court management services, staff management, administrative support and Majola "handled related litigation within the UN internal justice system." Following the successful conclusion of the mandate of the ICTR and its subsequent closure in December 2015, Majola left his position as the Assistant Secretary-General.

South African Human Rights Commission

On 2 December 2016 President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

appointed Majola as the

of the

. Majola's seven-year term commenced on 3 January 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majola, Bongani Christopher Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Harvard Law School alumni University of Zululand alumni South African officials of the United Nations Zulu people 21st-century South African lawyers