SAHRC has released a damning report revealing a staggering increase in sexual violence cases against pupils in South African schools. The commission states that the country has laws to address the crisis but points to fragmented systems, delayed implementation, incomplete offender registers as well as weak enforcement as major failures. Commissioner Tshepo Madlingozi unpacks the findings:

As Youth Month draws to a close, the South African Human Rights Commission has released a distressing report on the prevalence of sexual violence in schools. The report reveals the staggering pervasiveness of sexual violence in schools. Professor Tshepo Madlingozi joined SABC News to unpack the findings:

“Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth.” Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje opens the first chapter of his Native Life in South Africa with this well-known declaration. Plaatje wrote most of the manuscript for Native Life in 1914 aboard a ship to England. He was travelling with a team of four other leaders of the South African Native National Congress (later the ANC). The deputation

South African Human Rights Commissioner Tshepo Madlingozi joined Channel Africa's Peter Ndoro to discuss Botswana’s historic repeal of laws criminalising same-sex relationships. The move builds on a landmark 2019 High Court ruling that decriminalised same-sex relations and has been widely celebrated as a significant advance for human rights and equality in the region. Watch full interview here:

Resolving the National Question on the 30th anniversary of the “I am an African” speech: Towards a capacious notion of (South) African identity rooted in historical justice, human rights and ethical governance. In the final instalment of Reality Check, Professor Madlingozi reflected on former President Thabo Mbeki’s iconic “I Am an African” speech, delivered during the adoption of South Africa’s Constitution, as a powerful meditation on belonging, identity and nationhood. Dra

On the fourth day of Reality Check, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Youth Uprising, Professor Madlingozi focused on the role of young people in resolving South Africa’s National Question and building a more united future. He argued that many young South Africans continue to experience a sense of exclusion and uncertainty, shaped by intergenerational poverty, unemployment, inequality and social marginalisation. At the same time, he noted that young people rema

30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution On the third day of Reality Check, Professor Tshepo Madlingozi reflected on the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s 1996 Constitution and its role in addressing the National Question. Building on the previous day’s discussion of reparations and reconciliation, he argued that meaningful nation-building requires a truthful reckoning with the past, alongside concrete efforts to repair historical harm. Reparations and reconcilia

On the second day of Reality Check, Professor Madlingozi explored the relationship between reparations, reconciliation and nation-building, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Building on his argument that South Africa has yet to forge a truly united, non-racial and non-sexist nation, he suggested that the persistence of racism, racial distrust and social division points to an incomplete reconciliation process. He noted that

Professor Tshepo Madlingozi opened the series by reflecting on what he described as one of the most important yet insufficiently understood challenges facing South Africa: the unresolved National Question. Marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Tshekisho Solomon Plaatje , founding Secretary-General of the South African Native National Congress (later the ANC), celebrated intellectual and author of Native Life in South Africa, Madlingozi drew on Plaatje’s enduring insig

Professor Tshepo Madlingozi was invited as a special guest contributor to SAfm’s The National Briefing, the country’s premier weekday current affairs breakfast programme hosted by Cathy Mohlahlana. Over five consecutive mornings, from 4 to 8 May 2026, he contributed to the programme’s flagship editorial segment, Reality Check. Described by SAfm as a “five-day journey of national reflection”, Reality Check is designed to move beyond the constraints of daily news cycles by crea

By Tshepo Madlingozi and Lee-Anne Germanos Manuel As Freedom Month draws to a close, we would do well to remember Madiba’s words: "The time has come to accept in our hearts and minds that with freedom comes responsibility.” Nelson Mandela spoke these words in 1995 during the State of the Nation address. It could be said that Mandela was invoking a notion of freedom that goes beyond the Eurocentric and liberal model. The Botho/Ubuntu notion of freedom conceptualises freedom as

SAHRC Commissioner, Professor Tshepo Madlingozi, recently stated on SABC News that the South African Human Rights Commission cannot enforce binding directives following a ruling by the Constitutional Court. Although the Commission retains the power to investigate and recommend action, it now depends on the courts to ensure compliance with its findings. This situation raises critical questions about what enforcement mechanisms remain available to the Commission and what steps

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says it is considering approaching parliament to pass a legislative amendment, giving it the power to make its directives binding.

The SAHRC says it receives 10 000 complaints annually and that it lacks the litigation budget to enforce non compliance in court, prompting plans to approach parliament for legislative amendments

Professor Tshepo Madlingozi and host Professor Stewart Motha consider how world-destroying aspects of colonialism have survived in the supposedly post-apartheid era. Madlingozi explains what it would mean to reconstitute a society and nation in the context of decolonisation.

Sello Hatang was in conversation with Prof Tshepo Madlingozi, Commissioner at the SA Human Rights Commission.

I n this podcast Gift Nkosinathi Xaba, from CDH's Pro Bono & Human Rights practice, and Prof Tshepo Madlingozi zoom into and unpack the 2025 SAHRC Schools Readiness Report and the current state of public basic education in South Africa; Assess the real-world impact of the systemic challenges in our public basic education system; and explore pragmatic, rights-based solutions to address these systemic challenges that threaten not only the realisation of the constitutional right

Prof Tshepo Madlingozi, Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission, participated in the discussion alongside Seth Mazibuko, a former Robben Island inmate, 1976 student leader, and the patron and historian of the Seth Mazibuko Foundation, and Dr Pali Lehohla, the former Statistician General of South Africa. This came after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Human Rights Day address, in which he stated: "There can be no doubt that over the past 30 years, we have done much to restore

Stellenbosch University has appointed human rights scholar and activist Tshepo Madlingozi as an extraordinary professor at its Centre for Social Justice. The appointment strengthens the centre’s research and policy engagement on constitutionalism, reparative justice and human rights.

The Constitutional Court has heard arguments on whether the recommendations of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) carry the same legal weight as those of the Public Protector's office. The commission is appealing a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling from last year, which found that its directives are not binding. Safm speaks to SAHRC Commissioner Tshepo Madlingozi