Dr Sabelo Gumedze is the Executive Head: AISA within the Africa Institute of South Africa. He has over 20 years of experience in research with a background in Legal Scholarship and Practice, Policy Development, International Human Rights Law, Human Security Research, Analysis, Training, Teaching, Supervising, Project Management and Implementation. Dr Gumedze holds a Doctor of Social Sciences (International Law), and a Licentiate (pre-doctoral degree) in Social Sciences (International Law) from Ã?bo Akademi University (Finland), respectively.
He further also holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the University of Pretoria (South Africa); a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), and Bachelor of Arts in Law (BA Law) degrees from the University of Swaziland, respectively. Before joining the HSRC in July 2024, Dr Gumedze was Head of Research and Development at the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) based in Pretoria, South Africa for 12 years. He also served as the Executive Head in charge of Training and Communication at PSiRA for a year. Dr Gumedze was a Senior Researcher of the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Division at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa for 7 years.
Dr Gumedze is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He was a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Mandela Institute, Oliver Scheiner School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand. He was also a Fellow at the Institute for Human Rights and Development in The Gambia. He taught at the University of Swaziland, University of Limpopo, and University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Gumedze served as the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and member of the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which is part of the Special Procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, Switzerland. His research publications are mainly on International Human Rights Law, Peace and Security, and Privatization of Security.
