I am transitioning into the DPhil Law, as a Daube Law Scholar, from the MPhil, which I am awaiting to defend. My academic research locates itself in the context of Namibia and looks at the enforceability (or otherwise) of social and economic rights under Namibian law. I argue for an African values-based premise to assert inexpress social and economic rights, honing in on water, a right which is increasing nebulous for many Namibians and is likely to be even more tenuous with the onslaught of climate change. My research is taking me down historic corridors of the Namibian Constitutions’ drafting, which I believe very few researchers have walked, and this excites me.

Prior, I completed both the BCL and MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. My undergraduate LLB is from the University of Namibia, during which I co-authored a textbook on ‘The Law of Pre-Trial Criminal Procedure in Namibia’. While my primary research is on human rights broadly defined, I continue to retain a strong interest in public international law, sentencing theory, and competition law.

I have been involved in the work of the Oxford Human Rights Hub since arriving in Oxford. I have written several blogs on Namibian legal issues including ‘revenge porn’, wrongful extra-territorial arrest by a state under international law, electoral malpractices, and housing evictions. I have also had the pleasure of working on various Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) projects as coordinator and volunteer, and if I must, coordinating the Report on Reparations and Remedies for Victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence was a standout. Until last week, I also served as Research Officer of OPBP. Next year, I will be undertaking an internship at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha with a partial award from the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and OPBP. This will compliment my previous experience that includes a month-long foreign law clerk in the chambers of Justice Cameron of the South African Constitutional Court and as a researcher for the Law Reform and Development Commission of Namibia at a time when the third constitutional amendments were being consulted upon and drafted. Over the past three years, I have also been part of faculty at a summer school of the University of Lucerne Academy for Human Rights Implementation.

Presently, I am an Editor of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal and serve our African community in Oxford through my Presidency of the Oxford University Africa Society. When at home in Namibia, I take greatest joy when engaged in animal husbandry and horticultural activities on our humble family farm.

It’s an absolute privilege to belong to the Hub, learn from, and together with, peers and experts, and contribute to a human rights project that has a truly global reach.