Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

We are delighted to announce the admission of CER’s Thobeka Gumede as an attorney of the High Court here in Cape Town earlier today.

Thobeka, who was born in the small village of eNkwalini, KwaZulu-Natal, graduated in 2014 with an LLB degree from the University of Zululand. She joined the CER as a candidate attorney in the Mining programme in April 2014 and, during her articles, completed a 4-month secondment with Legal Aid South Africa’s Justice Centre.

Thobeka’s passion for people informs all her work and she has forged close and meaningful relationships with the mining-affected communities the CER represents. Going forward, she is determined to grow her contribution to, and to advocate for, the environmental rights of many more communities affected by mining. She says: “I never thought that that a shy small town girl like me would one day become a fully-fledged attorney! I am grateful to CER for the opportunity to realise my potential. I still have a lot to learn, but I’m glad that I will be undertaking this journey in a space so committed to the betterment of people’s lives. I hope that many more young people will join the environmental public interest sector.”

We are proud to have Thobeka continue her career at the CER – now in her new role as attorney in the Mining programme. We welcome her to the legal progression, and to the growing cadre of public interest environmental lawyers in South Africa.

Since 2013, the CER’s candidate attorney programme has been a key component of our overall work to grow and transform not only our own organisation, but also the environmental public interest sector as a whole. We implement a rigorous internal training and mentoring programme for our CAs, and support a range of external training opportunities for them.