Ruwadzano Patience Makumbe is a qualified Zimbabwean lawyer with experience in international law and human rights research, litigation and advocacy. She is currently a Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sky Global Challenges Scholar at Swansea University. She is also a Visiting Researcher at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, University of Oxford under the Oak Foundation’s Civil Liability for Human Rights Abuses Project.
Ruwadzano is interested in accountability efforts for human rights abuses and international law violations. As part of the Global Challenges Program, she worked with the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) on the Yemen Project, examining the role of technology such as user generated content in accountability and prosecutions of international law violations. Ruwadzano has worked with various organisations including serving as the Strategic Impact Litigation Specialist for the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum.
She has also worked in the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe as a legal researcher to the Judges. She has provided support to various organisations on best practices for human rights promotion and protection including the Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust, the Africa Human Rights Forum, Youth Engage, OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index and the African Leadership Institute’s Project Pakati.
Ruwadzano holds a bachelor of laws honors degree from the University of Zimbabwe and the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s degree in Human Rights Policy and Practice from Roehampton University, London, Gothenburg University, Sweden and Deusto University, Spain.
Ruwadzano's areas of research include international law, human rights, rule of law, accountability in the digital age and democratic practices.
“My hope is to be able to contribute to the construction of a hopeful narrative on human rights protection and development. I want to be part of efforts to develop policies, systems and institutions which benefit the most vulnerable and marginalised people in our societies.”
