Law Focus Wits Radio Academy

Tonight’s show is on progressive legislation and processes around name and gender marker changes, for members of the LGBTQIA Plus community. The Department of Home Affairs have recently gazetted its Draft Identity Management Policy, partly in a bid to make South Africa’s identification system more inclusive. The document states that gender and sexual identity minorities are excluded, because the current laws and policies do not cater for changes in the gender/sex attribute of the gender identity system. We’ll be in conversation with Tish Lumos White and Sibusiso Kheswa who’re both very passionate in advocating for the rights of LGBTQIA Plus persons.

What happens if your employer forces you to vaccinate for COVID-19 and you’re not comfortable based on various issues such as, medical, religious or cultural? What are the rights of a worker and an employer, respectively, in terms of COVID-19 vaccination? There is still not an established law that requires all workers to be vaccinated and employers will need to tread carefully when considering mandatory vaccination policies. However, we should also consider where the employer is coming from…a safe working environment for anyone accessing their premises is definitely crucial. Join us as we dissect this topic with Cosatu’s Gauteng Chairperson, Amos Monyela as well Owethu Mbambo, a Senior Associate at Fasken law firm.

Do you know how to terminate a customary marriage? Perhaps you have a family member who’s married in terms of customary law and believes they’re divorced…now the question is are they indeed? One should consider that the ramifications of not terminating a customary marriage legally, can have adverse consequences. Various developments and amendments were made on customary marriage, on November 15, the year 2000 and not many us have the knowledge of those developments.

We'll be in conversation with 28-year-old Nkopane Mokwena, a young, vibrant admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa, who is also a founder and director of Mokwena Nkopane Incorporated, a law firm based in Johannesburg. He acquired his LLB degree at University of the Free State in 2016 and commenced his career as a forensic investigator. Born and bred in QwaQwa, growing up, he always wanted to be a lawyer. We'll discover, among others, what keeps Nkopane on his toes, the passion behind his work, his view on various cases he has tackled as well as challenges he has faced.

What happens when you finally break the silence and reveal an old rape case? Tonight we’re tackling the trauma that comes with being physically and emotionally violated and how most people take time before they’re able talk about their trauma. We will also focus on the legal implications of reporting an old rape incident. This as the country wraps up its 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign. Tumelo Ramalekana, a registered Psychologist and Elizabeth Nieuwoudt, a Legal Practitioner from Legal Aid will help us dissect this topic.

Tonight, we’re in conversation with Hlengiwe Skosana, a senior associate at Garlicke & Bousfield’s law firm’s employment law department. She holds an LLB and an LLM in Labour Law from the Nelson Mandela University, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Labour Dispute Resolution Practice from the University of Witwatersrand. Hlengiwe serves as a regional committee member for the South African Society for Labour Law (SASLAW), and as a governor on the interim board of governors for the Anton Lembede Maths, Science and Technology Academy: School of Innovation.