In memoriam: Professor Charles Ngwena

It is with great sadness that the Bonavero Institute records the death of Professor Charles Ngwena who died in Pretoria on 31 January 2025.  Professor Ngwena was an academic affiliate of the Bonavero Institute who taught on the Bonavero - George Washington University School of Law Summer School in International Human Rights Law in 2023 and 2024. He was a professor at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. His fields of research and teaching were sexual and reproductive rights and disability law, and he pioneered the teaching of two Masters’ courses in those fields at the University of Pretoria. Professor Ngwena wrote widely in the field of international human rights law and his recent monograph, What is Africanness? — Contesting nativism in race, cultural and sexualities (Pretoria 2018) is a profound and lasting contribution to contemporary debates.  Professor Ngwena was a highly admired and loved teacher and supervisor, and a loyal, kind and thoughtful colleague. We send our deep condolences to his wife, Patricia and his family and friends, as well as his colleagues at the University of Pretoria.