HSF Staff
Naseema Fakir
Executive Director
Naseema Fakir was admitted to the Bar in 2019 and holds an LLB from the University of Witwatersrand and BA (Honours) from the University of Johannesburg. She previously practiced as an attorney in 2006 and served as Director of the Legal Resources Centre Johannesburg for 8 years. She also worked as Head of Legal Services at Lawyers for Human Rights in the refugee programme and at the South African Human Rights Commission. Naseema has experience in both public and private law, constitutional and administrative law in a career dedicated to using the law to serve the interests of the most vulnerable and marginalised of society.
Deborah Petersen
Donor Relations and Operations
Deborah brings many years of working experience at all levels in various administrative and coordinating positions. The last 14 years have been in the NGO sector, working for a global human rights NGO. Her knowledge of civil society extends to 11 countries in Southern Africa, as well as countries in East and West Africa.
Christopher Fisher
Lead Researcher
Christopher completed his master’s degree in philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand, and lectured philosophy at various Gauteng universities. He then completed an LLB at the University of Cape Town, and his articles of clerkship at ENSafrica in their competition law department.
Sophie Smit
Researcher
Sophie Smit is a graduate of Wits University with a BA (Law), LLB and LLM (human rights, advocacy and litigation). Sophie is passionate about justice and reducing inequality through the law in South Africa.
Luke Oosthuizen
Researcher
Luke Oosthuizen has completed a BA in Philosophy at the University of Southampton, an MA in Human Rights at the University of Sussex, and an MA in Law at the University of Bristol. Luke has strong interests in human rights implementation and international law and hopes to bring an international perspective to his work with HSF.
Ezekiel Kekana
Researcher
Ezekiel Kekana, holds BA Honours in Journalism and Media Studies from Wits University, BA Honours in Media Studies, and BA Degree in Communication Science both obtained from the University of South Africa. Ezekiel has 13 years of working experience in the media industry and has worked in print, online, and broadcasting. Prior to joining HSF, he was freelancing for an online news site called GroundUp News, focusing on local government issues in Limpopo and Gauteng provinces.
Yvette Ondinga
Office Administrator
Yvette Ondinga has worked in different capacities since joining HSF. She is currently the Office Administrator for the HSF. Prior to joining the HSF, she worked as a Project Coordinator for the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), in Johannesburg.
Thuli Mbhele
Office Assistant
Thuli comes from Sebokeng and matriculated in 2006 after which she started working at Great South Autobody quoting on car repairs. Thuli joined the HSF family in 2018.