The ZHRC is composed of nine (9) Commissioners including the Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson. The Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson are full time whilst the rest of the Commissioners are part time.
Commissioner Dr. Elasto Hilarious Mugwadi is the Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC). He was sworn into office in 2010 with the first group of Commissioners and became the Chairperson of the Commission in 2014.
Dr. Mugwadi holds a Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) Honoris Causa from the Commonwealth University London Graduate School. He also holds a Bachelor of Administration (Hons) degree from the University of Rhodesia, a Master of Science degree (MSc) in International Relations, a Diploma in Development Studies from the University of Oslo, an Intermediate Degree in Law from UNISA, LLB (UNISA) and LLM (UNISA).
Commissioner Mugwadi is a former Chief Immigration Officer of Zimbabwe having worked at the institution for 23 years. He is also a legal practitioner at Mugwadi and Associates since 2007. He is a successful commercial farmer.
Dr. Elasto Hilarious Mugwadi
ChairpersonCommissioner Dorothy Moyo is a holder of an MSc in Peace, Leadership and Conflict Resolution from the Zimbabwe Open University and a BSc Sociology degree from the then University of Rhodesia. She is currently studying for a PhD in Public Administration: Peacebuilding with the Durban University of Technology.
Commissioner Moyo is a Trustee and one of the Lead Facilitators at the Alternatives to Violence Project Zimbabwe (AVPZ). She facilitates peace building workshops and studies in Zimbabwe and South Africa. She has mentored young Zimbabwean women entrepreneurs under PROWEB (Professional Women, Executives and Business Women’s Forum).
Commissioner Moyo worked in various managerial positions in human resources at the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) from 1982 to 2013, ultimately holding the position of Industrial Relations Manager responsible for industrial peace and harmony in the Railway industry. During her tenure at NRZ, she was Deputy/Vice Chairperson of the Railway Employment Council (NEC). She was also Board member at the Railway Medical Aid Society (Railmed) where she was the Chairperson of the Human Resources Committee.
Dorothy Moyo
Deputy ChairpersonCommissioner Dr. Angeline Guvamombe is a retired Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and holder of a Doctorate in Business Administration. She is an accomplished, confident, meticulous and a highly motivated individual of distinguished performance. Her broad-based background encompasses exceptional work ethics and commitment to organizational objectives. She is a proactive team builder and strategic planner with the ability to execute tasks. Recognized for decisive leadership and proven ability to tackle challenges head-on maintaining focus on achieving continuous, improved performance, Dr Guvamombe seeks to align experience attained in Crime Management, Human Resources Management, Training and Administration with the vision of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
Dr Angeline Guvamombe
CommissionerCommissioner Beauty Kajese holds a Master of Business Administration in Public Management degree from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), a Bachelor of Science Counselling degree from the Zimbabwe Open University and LCCI Diploma in Public Relations and Marketing, among other qualifications.
A former Head of Communications in the Zimbabwe Land Commission who rose through the ranks in Government, Mrs Kajese has vast experience in handling queries and complaints from the generality of the populace. She has in-depth experience in negotiation management, corporate governance, advocacy and human rights. She trained in Collaborative Dispute Resolution by Collaborative Decision Resources (CDR) Associates. Mrs Kajese is also a Counsellor by profession, specializing in adolescence and Persons Living with Disabilities.
Beauty Kajese
CommissionerDr Cowen Dziva earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies from the University of South Africa. He also obtained an MA and BA Development Studies from Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. He considers himself a researcher and development practitioner with an in-depth background in gender and disability rights, and the application of human rights based approach (HRBA) in development. He is an avid researcher with several co-authored book chapters and articles on democratisation and development, gender and human rights of disadvantaged groups in society.
Dr Cowen Dziva
CommissionerCommissioner Brian Penduka is a Rule of Law and Human Rights expert, who has worked progressively in the rule of law, governance and human rights sector since 2005. In that time, he has been privileged enough to have worked in government, civil society and for an international organization. He worked in the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, in the Policy and Legal Research department, which housed the Secretariat for the Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. In 2006 he joined the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum (NGO Forum) where he worked initially as a project lawyer and later as the Deputy Director. From 2012 to 2019 Commissioner Penduka worked as a Senior Legal Advisor, (Zimbabwe team leader) for the International Commission of Jurists. In addition to his extensive experience in the Human Rights sector, Commissioner Penduka holds a Bachelor’s Degree (Honours) in Law from the University of Zimbabwe. He has also completed LLM courses in human rights with the University of Nottingham (2006) and the University of South Africa (2013) and concluded a postgraduate diploma in management with the Edinburgh Business School.