Who We Are​

Fiona Anciano is a Professor in Political Studies at the University of the Western Cape, and a Visiting Researcher at University West, Sweden. She is a qualitative researcher with an interest in urban governance, democratisation, citizenship and civil society. Working with student teams, she conducts research in informal settlements on urban democracy. She has managed 13 grant projects in Cape Town over the last 10 years and has produced numerous local and international publications, including a co-authored book Democracy Disconnected: Participation and Governance in a City of the South, in 2019 and edited the 2021 book Political Values and Narratives of Resistance: Social Justice and the Fractured Promises of Post-colonial States both published in the United Kingdom by Routledge.

Mmeli Dube is a researcher who leads PUG’s Human Rights Programme. His research interests include civil society, citizen engagement, informality, sanitation, and human rights. He combines academic insight with practical knowledge gained from over a decade of leadership in civil society, focusing on enhancing public accountability, citizen-state interaction, elections, youth participation, and related areas. Recently, Mmeli has participated in international research projects, leading to collaborative writings on political values, democratic citizenship, and non-sewered sanitation in informal urban contexts.

Christina leads PUG’s Urban Governance research programme. With over ten years of experience in government-facing urban research, she has led various projects related to the intersection between environmental and social systems within cities. She is a geographer by training (Wits and UCT), and her research extends across multiple disciplines, with a specific focus on collaborative knowledge creation and the role of transdisciplinary research for informing policy and practice. Beyond her academic research, Christina holds a postgraduate diploma in teaching (UNISA) and she previously worked as an SABC broadcasting meteorologist.

Boitumelo is a researcher at the University of the Western Cape. Papane holds a Master’s degree in Work-Integrated Political Studies from the University West (HV). She is a scholar of the Mellon Foundation with membership to its affiliated Social Science Research Council. Her research interests include the theories and practice of political participation and informality in community-based organizations. She conducts research that speaks to the current political climate and produce outputs that reflect her mission towards scholarly activism.

She is currently a PhD student in the Governing the Just Urban Transition Project (GoJUT), supervised by Fiona Anciano and SJ Cooper-Knock.

Michaelyn Cornelius is a research administrator for PUG and a Masters Candidate with a special interest in issues related to gender and sexuality. Michaelyn completed her Honours degree at the University of the Western Cape, looking at the qualitative nature of heteropatriarchy and its invasive presence within women-loving women (wlw) relationships. Cornelius also supports and promotes the fourth and sixteenth SDGs of quality education and peace, justice and strong institutions through her volunteerism.

Babongile Bidla is Political Studies Masters candidate at the University of the Western Cape. She is an innovative and creative problem solver with a passion for learning and helping others. Bidla has a strong interest in research, democratic accountability, ICT and respect for human rights. She is passionate about using her skills to make a difference in the world and in her academic studies is currently researching ways different types of technologies can improve public service delivery in South Africa.

Nheo is the Africa Hub’s Research Assistant. She holds an Honours degree in Political & International Studies from Rhodes University and a Master’s Degree in Political Science from UWC. Her dissertation looked at intra-race identity formation in post-democratic South Africa: An investigation of the “coconut”. Nheo has a special interest in research and evaluation, socio-economic development programmes and human rights advocacy. She is passionate about expanding her expertise in human rights, particularly in the African context

Motshwaedi Sepeng is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Governing the Just Urban Transition project. He has an academic background from the University of the Witwatersrand. His work explores the intersections of people, infrastructure and the environment, focusing on water and sanitation. Passionate about sustainable development, Motshwaedi investigates how urban transitions can be governed equitably to promote resilience and inclusivity in poor communities, and ensure just and sustainable access to essential resources.

Sindisa Monakali is a research assistant for the Politics and Urban Governance Research Group, and he focuses on sanitation in Cape Town informal settlement. He is also an activist scholar who believes in education for liberation, and the national chairperson of Equal Education. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree at the University of the Western Cape. Lastly, Sindisa is also a fellow for the Mellon Foundation MDP program and Canon Collins Sol Plaatjie scholarship alumni. His research interests continue to be rooted in land, violence, memory, dispossession, social movements, occupation, and decolonisation.