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On 17 November 2023, SERI, in collaboration with the Mazingira Institute hosted a virtual training workshop on urban agriculture. The workshop forms part of SERI's work under the Women’s Spaces Project.

The workshop focused on crop production, and focused specifically on starting a successful vegetable garden. This session included training on skills for managing soil, systems of irrigation, and the use of organic pesticides as a cheaper alternative for managing plants and crops. The workshop was attended by 22 residents from Slovo Park Informal Settlement, the majority of whom were women.

On 26 October 2023, SERI collaborated with CAOSA to conduct a day-long Women's Spaces workshop at Mandelaville Crisis Centre in Roodepoort. The workshop aimed to educate participants on issues concerning succession and inheritance of estates/properties. Additionally, it provided insights into the significance of creating Wills and the process of making one. Furthermore, attendees were guided through the qualification requirements and application procedures for RDP houses. Approximately 39 participants, mostly women, attended the workshop.

Throughout the day, various sessions covered topics such as the different succession rules under the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, the Wills Act, and an introduction to matrimonial property systems applicable in South Africa. Another session focused on the processes, criteria, and applications for RDP houses in urban areas.

Despite the clarity of laws governing estate/property succession, the majority of South Africans remain unfamiliar with the rules that dictate the dis
tribution of their property after death. Lack of knowledge about succession and inheritance not only contributes to family disputes but also poses a threat to an individual's secure tenure. For many women, these threats to tenure security are heightened due to gender biases, making them vulnerable to eviction from external sources and even from within their households.

This workshop forms part of the Women’s Spaces project at SERI which focuses on women’s rights to land and housing in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is supported by Rooftops Canada.

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) invites applications for the post of In-House Counsel/Advocate.

The SERI Law Clinic has a first-rate human rights practice, which encompasses constitutional and administrative law, criminal defence, defamation, labour law, property law, contract law (insofar as it involves consumer protection) and actions against the police and other delictual claims. SERI concentrates its work in South Africa’s townships, informal settlements, the Johannesburg inner city and other poor and marginalised communities. SERI’s practitioners appear regularly at all levels of the courts system, up to and including the Constitutional Court. SERI has an enviable track record in obtaining and enforcing ground-breaking judgments. You can find out more about SERI on www.seri-sa.org.

Reporting to the Director of Litigation, the advocate will be expected to develop a litigation practice across a wide range of work in all of SERI’s thematic areas, encompassing trial, motion and appeal work, including criminal, constitutional, administrative, labour, property and delictual matters. 

He or she will be engaged in arguing and presenting cases in court on behalf of SERI and its clients and give legal opinions and help with drafting of legal documents related to SERI’s work or interest. He or she will also be expected to mentor and train SERI’s junior attorneys and candidate attorneys.

The requirements for the position are as follows –

• Admission as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa and membership of any Bar. 
• Interest in, and prior engagement with, constitutional law and human rights, especially in the areas of work in which SERI is active.
• Excellent skills at legal drafting and in presenting and arguing cases in court. 
• Experience of practice in the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court will be an added advantage.
• Experience in the training and mentorship of junior lawyers will be an added advantage.
• Fluency in one or more of South Africa’s indigenous languages will be an added advantage.

The salary for this post will be in the region of R500,000 per annum for employment on a 60% part-time basis (3 days per week). The appointment will be for a fixed term of 2 years.  

If you are interested in this post, please send a CV, together with a covering letter to Princess Nkuna at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In your covering letter, please specify why you’re interested in this post. Please also provide a detailed explanation of why you are interested in working for SERI in particular, and what qualities and experience you would bring to the post. 

Generalised covering letters, which do not engage with SERI’s activities and purpose, will not be considered. The closing date for applications is 7 December 2023. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and will be expected to make themselves available for interview in December 2023 or early January 2024. 

• Download a PDF version of the advert here.

On 26 October 2023, the Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the fire at the Usindiso Shelter in Marshalltown commenced. The fire on 31 August 2023 claimed the lives of over 70 people and left hundreds more injured and destitute.

The Commission of Inquiry was established by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to inquire into the circumstances of the fire that caused these deaths and injuries and the prevalence of ‘hijacked buildings’ in the inner city of Johannesburg. The Commission has also been tasked with making findings about who should be held responsible and to draw lessons from the incident, considering the ongoing investigations carried out by the police and other bodies. The Commission will make recommendations about appropriate steps that must be taken and by whom and it has been given six months to complete its work.

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) welcomes the commencement of the Commission of Inquiry. We have placed on record our intention to participate and will also act as legal representatives for the Inner City Federation (ICF) in their participation at the Commission. The former residents of the Usindiso shelter and victims of the fire will be represented by Norton Rose Attorneys.

SERI looks forward to making its submission to the Commission of Inquiry drawing from our work with residents of the inner city and their experiences of building neglect. The tragic events at Usindiso transpired in the context of a longer-term housing crisis acutely affecting unemployed and low-income residents in the inner city of Johannesburg. SERI, therefore, welcomes constructive engagement on ways to address this crisis while protecting the housing rights and the dignity of some of the most vulnerable in society.

SERI executive director Nomzamo Zondo said, “We are hopeful that the Commission will form a foundation for the victim’s pursuit of justice and a people-centred approach towards the development of the Johannesburg inner city. We are nonetheless concerned about the absence of the victims of the fire at the Commission and how that will impact the proceedings.”

Contact details: 

• Nkosinathi Sithole, Senior Attorney: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 082 589 7473.
• Nomzamo Zondo, SERI executive director: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 071 301 9676.

• Download the statement here.