About Laws.Africa

Greg Kempe

Co-founder and Head of Technology

greg@laws.africa

Greg is a co-founder of Laws.Africa and is passionate about using technology for the benefit of society. Greg previously worked at OpenUp, a civic technology organisation, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Greg has an MSc in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Mariya Badeva

Co-founder

mariya@laws.africa

Mariya leads the AfricanLII project at the University of Cape Town. Mariya is a veteran open access activist having worked on free access to law in Africa since 2004. She was involved in the set up and development of SAFLII. Since 2010 Mariya has helped build free access law portals in 13 African countries and co-founded the AfricanLII as a resource and a community hub for free access to law in Africa. Mariya is a technology lawyer with an LL.M in Law and Information Technology from Stockholm University.

Edith V

Senior Legal Informatician

edith@laws.africa

Edith has a background in legal publishing, a passion for open access to information and a growing set of programming skills.

She has worked as a legal proofreader, a statutes editor, a project manager, and a Python developer.

At Laws.Africa her focus is on modelling legal texts using the Akoma Ntoso XML standard.

Sibulele Mdleleni

Head of Digitization and Document Conversions

sibulele@laws.africa

Sibulele leads the digitization and document management team. She has a Post Graduate Diploma in Library and Information services from the University of Cape Town. She is passionate about bringing knowledge, managing and safe keeping of documents and administration at large.

Nicky du Preez

Content and Research Lead

nicky@laws.africa

Nicky has a background in working as a statutes editor for a legal publisher. Her role entailed proofreading, editing, researching and maintaining databases of legislation. She has a keen interest in managing information and for open access to information.

Wilson Gaturu

Software Developer

wilson@laws.africa

Wilson is a software developer based in Nairobi, Kenya. He has a passion for building high quality applications that perform at scale. He enjoys working on projects that make use of current technology to empower people to grow and develop their communities.

Olivia DE CAMPOS

Project Manager

olivia@laws.africa

Olivia previously worked at Karam Law Firm (Bloomington, USA) and at GIZ (Abidjan, Ivory Coast). She has a background in Administration and International relations based on African Studies and she is passionate about making the law equal and accessible to all. She owns a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Political Sciences and a Master’s degree in public administration from Minnesota State University Mankato, USA.

Nelly Monyangi

Junior Product Owner

nelly@laws.africa

Nelly has a background in Quality Assurance and a passion for releasing highly functional software products that are responsive and impactful to end users. Nelly has a Bsc in Mechatronic Engineering from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and an MSc in Project Planning Management from the University of Nairobi.

Chikomborero Gudlanga

Content Manager

chiko@laws.africa

Chikomborero is a lawyer with an LLB degree from the University of Johannesburg, and is reading for an LL.M degree. He leads the content team and is excited to be working on solving the access to law problem in Africa.

Sade Lekena

Senior Philanthropic Liaison and Fundraising Manager

sade@laws.africa

Sade brings experience in public relations, communications, and marketing with the ability to drive impactful campaigns, build strategic partnerships and engage diverse stakeholders to effect change. She is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa with a proven track record as a company secretary, legal executive and public relations and communications executive. She has developed a profound understanding of governance, legal compliance, and regulatory affairs.

Linda Awuor

Programmes Manager

linda@laws.africa

Linda is the East Africa Programmes Manager at Laws.Africa. She has previously held the positions of Deputy Head of Law Reporting at the Judiciary to Botswana, Legal Editor at Afriwise and Head of Legal Research and Development at the National Council for Law Reporting, Kenya. She is a proponent of access to legal information and believes that technology is the key to changing Africa’s legal and economic landscape. She has several years of experience managing projects in the field of provision of legal information. Linda holds a master’s degree in environmental law and a Bachelor of Laws (LL. B) Degree, both from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and a Post Graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law. She is currently pursuing a PHD in Law from the University of Nairobi.

Jean Francois Régis Adoupo

Legislation Content Editor

Adoupo Jean Francois Régis holds a Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Montreal, CA; and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Central Arkansas, USA. He developed an interest in human rights issues while working for LIDHO (Ligue Ivoirienne des Droits de Hommes) in Côte d’Ivoire. This experience left an indelible mark on his understanding of the human ecosystem in society and the need to respect the rights of all, which is an important factor in creating social equilibrium.

Karen Shear

Legislation Content Editor

Karen previously worked in academic librarianship at Wits Medical School and Law School libraries. Since 2002 she has worked as a part time consultant to the Constitutional Court website. Her involvement with Free Access to law began in 2006 with her work as a Legal Content Analyst with SAFLII, where she still works on a part time basis.

BA (Hons) UCT, H Dip Lib (Wits), LLB (Unisa)

Marina Rubridge

Legislation Content Editor

I studied at the University of the Orange Free State where I obtained my Bachelor of Library Science (1982) and Higher Education diploma (1983). Since 2015 I have been Manager of the Legal Knowledge Centre and Web Portal at FNB Legal. I have been an active member and committee member of OSALL. Nothing gives me a bigger thrill than being able to source some obscure piece of information.

Maulline Gragau

Legislation Content Editor

Maulline Gragau has studied law, Criminology and Forensic Science, and has 5+ years experience in law and forensic science. She is passionate about law, science and technology, youth and women empowerment through entrepreneurship, responsive leadership, sustainable development and environmental conservation. She believes that Africans have the capability to find their own solutions to all the undeniable problems which confront them.

Zodwa Simakani

Digital Transformation Development and Learning Lead

Ntombizodwa holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, Media and Writing from the University of Cape Town. She has also commenced her LLB studies at the University of Cape Town and is passionate about Human Rights, particularly Refugee Law. Furthermore she truly believes that law should be equally accessible to all.

Vidhu Vedalankar

Ms Vidhu Vedalankar brings extensive experience from the NGO and public sectors. She has worked in a variety of roles focusing on building the capacity of the state to deliver services at scale to the public, in particular to the most vulnerable and marginalised people of our communities.

Most recently she served as the CEO of Legal Aid South Africa managing the delivery of professional legal services through a national footprint to reach clients thus increasing access to justice for millions of South Africans. She also served at Executive and CEO levels in local government in the Durban metropolitan area. This speaks to her many years of experience in executive management.

Ms Vedalankar has skills and expertise in Leadership and Management, Strategic Planning, Business Planning, Sustainability planning and practice, Operationalising and execution of strategy, delivery of services at scale as well as Engagement with and Accountability to internal and external stakeholders

She is committed to sustainable performance excellence, leveraging available resources to optimise efficiency and effectiveness, ethical leadership, good governance and being informed in all decisions by a scientific data driven approach.

Ms Vedalankar has a Masters degree in Town Planning, a Bachelor of Science degree as well as an Executive Development certificate.

Ndidi Ezenwa

Ms. Ndidi Ezenwa is a member of the Advisory Board of Laws.Africa and is passionate about the use of technology to improve access to justice. Ndidi is the General Counsel at Juven, a private investment firm which invests in technology enabled and consumer businesses operating in Africa. Ndidi previously worked as a private equity lawyer at international law firm White & Case in London and Singapore where she advised a diverse range of financial sponsors on cross border transactions, with a focus on emerging market transactions. She was also seconded to work as Head of Legal and Investor Relations for Kobo360, a Lagos based tech startup. Ndidi has a LLB in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Justice Isaac Lenaola

Justice Isaac Lenaola is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Kenya. Following a successful career at the Kenyan bar, he joined the judicial service in 2003 and worked as Resident Judge in several seats of the High Court of Kenya. Until his appointment as Judge of the Supreme Court, Judge Lenaola was the Presiding Judge of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi.

Justice Lenaola has served as Judge and Deputy Principal Judge of the Court of First Instance of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) from 2011 to 2018 and as a Judge at the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone (RSCL) from 2013 to date.

He was previously a Member of the Board, Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and Chairman and member of various Judiciary Committees as well as Chairman of the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) and Treasurer of the East African Magistrates and Judges Association (EAMJA). He is President of the Advisory Council of the Strathmore Institute for Advanced Studies in International Criminal Justice (SIASIC) and President of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ).

Justice Lenoala’s contributions to the administration of justice in Kenya and the East African region has been recognised through numerous awards from national and regional justice sector institutions, including the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS) from the President of the Republic of Kenya for distinguished service in the administration of justice in Kenya and the East African Region. He has also been named Jurist of the Year by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)—Kenya Chapter (2019).

Robert Buergenthal

Mr. Robert M. Buergenthal has worked for thirty years to implement international development programs and support initiatives that create the underlying conditions for sustainable global development. Specializing in governance, justice sector reform, conflict resolution, and civil society development, Buergenthal has worked in over seventy-five countries. Throughout his career Buergenthal has led projects to support the dissemination of public legal information and academic scholarship. Since serving as an observer to the Law via the Internet Conference and the preparation of the Montreal Declaration in 2002, he has regularly partnered with Legal Information Institutes (LIIs) and universities worldwide; and championed public information technology and public-private partnerships to address development challenges and achieve shared goals. Buergenthal most recently served as Senior Director, International Strategy, Global Government Affairs for Thomson Reuters Corp. and previously worked with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO); World Bank Group; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. Buergenthal holds a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota and a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Minnesota School of Law.