Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

Thandeka Kathi

Programme Head: Pollution & Climate Change

Thandeka Kathi is an attorney and Head of the Pollution and Climate Change Programme at the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER). Her work at CER primarily includes using legal advocacy and strategic litigation to combat air pollution and climate change, ensuring stronger environmental laws and holding fossil fuel emitters and state decision-makers accountable for harmful actions.

She holds multiple qualifications including the following: Bachelor of Social Sciences Honours and Bachelor of Laws from Rhodes University; Postgraduate Diploma in Commercial and Business Law from University of the Witwatersrand; Certificate of Competence in Prospecting and Mining Law also from University of the Witwatersrand and a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law from University of Oxford.

Prior to joining CER, Thandeka was with the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of the Witwatersrand advocating for equitable access to land and a secure home. Her interests lie in human rights, environmental justice, and legal advocacy, particularly for working-class communities in South Africa. She hopes her work will amplify the voices of those pushed to the margins of society and bring about meaningful change.