South Africa LAWA Fellow 2002-2003 L.L.B., University of Transkei L.L.M., Georgetown University Law Center Magistrate Cape High Court, Private Bag X9020, Cape Town, 2000 Capetown , South Africa Email: tandazwandita@yahoo.com or tndita@justice.gov.za (preferred) Acting High Court Judge Home Phone: 021 692 2822 Work Phone: 021 423 1902

Profile:

In 2005, Judge Ndita was permanently appointed as Judge in the High Court of South Africa, Cape Provincial Division – the first African woman to be appointed to this division.

LAWA Experience:

Judge Ndita wrote her graduate thesis, entitled, “Inheritance Rights of Rural Women in South Africa,” on the ways in which inheritance laws disproportionately affect women’s rights and development in South Africa. Her interest in HIV/AIDS law led her to complete her internship fellowship with the Whitman Walker HIV/AIDS Clinic.

Other Work Experience:

Judge Ndita became a Magistrate in Mt. Frere in 1991 and was promoted to Senior Magistrate in 1999. As Magistrate, she explored nontraditional ways of improving women and children’s lives by converting a coal room in the courthouse basement into a counseling area for domestic violence victims and their children. At the time, no other courthouse in South Africa provided counseling services.

She acted as facilitator Magistrate for the Law, Race and Gender Research Unit and became involved in the formation of Community Justice Committee, providing public legal education in numerous communities. She is currently a Mentor on the Canada S.A. Justice Linkage Programme and was featured in a documentary, "A Woman's Place," as the first South African judicial officer to participate in such an effort on behalf of women's human rights.

Following her fellowship, she returned to the Law, Race and Gender Unit of the University of Cape Town as Senior Researcher and Trainer, where she works to promote judicial ethics rule of law and racial and gender equality.