Jane is a lawyer at Open Secrets. She works on research, strategic litigation and legal advocacy across all the organisation’s thematic areas. She has a particular interest in business and human rights and the complicity of private actors in international crimes. She is an admitted attorney and holds a bachelor of social science and LLB from the University of Cape Town.

Cheriese is an investigator at Open Secrets. She is interested in research, litigation and advocacy as tools for achieving justice in the public and private spheres, how spatial planning informs the way we live our lives after apartheid, and is fascinated by government buildings.
Before joining Open Secrets, she was a research intern at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (SERI). She holds a BA Fine Art from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, an MA in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a certification from the Center for Human Rights, University of Pretoria on Accountable Policing and Oversight of the Criminal Justice System.

.

Ntokozo Dladla holds an LLB from the University of Cape Town. Shortly after serving his articles of clerkship, he began his LLM in intellectual property at the University of South Africa where he is currently registered as a student and where he most recently worked as a teaching assistant. His research interests include the history and theory of intellectual property and Third World approaches to international law. Ntokozo is also a member of the African Society of International Law.

Shakeelah is a Campaigner at Open Secrets. She works on the organisation’s in-house graphic design and social media. She is a member of the Climate Justice Coalition Committee.
Shakeelah is a creative devoted to unpacking intersectional feminism and climate justice through visual media.
She holds an Hons in Visual Studies at Stellenbosch University and is completing her Masters in the same degree.

Jill is the Operations Manager at Open Secrets, where she helps keep the organisation running smoothly behind the scenes. She leads the organisation’s financial management and supports governance and fundraising efforts, while also guiding work on administration, monitoring and evaluation, and programme support. With a deep commitment to social justice, Jill has worked with diverse pan-African non-profit organisations and served in South Africa’s foreign affairs department. She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Studies from the University of Cape Town.

Letlhogonolo is a Campaigner at Open Secrets. She holds an MA in Politics and a BAHons in Politics and International Relations from the University of Johannesburg. She has a keen interest in human rights, democracy and governance. Before joining Open Secrets, she was an Electoral Systems Researcher at My Vote Counts

Michael is the Head of Investigations Unit at Open Secrets. He leads a team of investigators working to uncover the role of powerful private actors in corruption, economic crimes, and illicit financial flows. He is interested in revealing how our economic and political systems entrench impunity and enable crime, and how this can be changed. Michael was the lead researcher on Apartheid Guns and Money: A Tail of Profit (2017), and co-author of The Unaccountables: The powerful politicians and corporations who profit from impunity (2022). Michael holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh, a PPE (Hons) from the University of Cape Town (UCT), and an LLB from the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Zen holds a BA International Studies degree from Stellenbosch University and a PGDip in Sustainable Development from Stellenbosch University’s School of Public Leadership. She previously worked as a postgraduate researcher at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST), where she engaged in research around State Capture and governance issues. Zen is currently completing her MPhil in Sustainable Development.

Abby is an investigator at Open Secrets. She has contributed to every thematic area in the organisation and has led impactful projects in the welfare and war thematic areas. She is passionate about the way technologies impact human rights and is convinced that if Elena Greco was real character living today her favourite song would be “The Weekend” by SZA. She holds an MPhil in Justice and Transformation from UCT and thanks to an undergraduate degree is qualified to say she’s dabbled in Social Anthropology.

Ntombi is an experienced cleaner and has worked in this sector since moving to Cape Town in 1999. Ntombi has worked at Open Secrets and the Right2Know Campaign since 2017. At the beginning of 2019, Ntombi also started working at the Human Rights Media Centre (HRMC).

Abongile Nkamisa is a lawyer in the Legal Unit, with expertise in Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Public International Law, Business and Human Rights, and Corporate Accountability. Abongile holds an LLB from WSU and an LLM from the University of Cape Town. Her work combines litigation, research, and legal advocacy to advance transparency and accountability. She is passionate about systemic change.

Millicent is a Finance Administrator at Open Secrets, she has provided administrative support to the organization since its inception and coordinated People’s Tribunal logistics. Millicent has extensive experience as an Office Manager, Print Production, and Project/Finance/ Operations Assistant in the creative/communications/marketing space for groups like- Brandsrock Group, Saatchi & Saatchi SA, Have You Heard Marketing and in the non-governmental sector, including at OSF-SA.

Ra’eesa is a senior investigator at Open Secrets. She has led investigations on state capture, war profiteers, transnational money laundering, and their impact on social justice. Her work has led powerful people and institutions to be held to account. In 2020, she completed her Masters  at the London School of Economics with an award-winning thesis on archives and justice for apartheid crimes.

Meghan is an Administrator at Open Secrets, where she supports the ongoing development and implementation of the organisation’s planning, monitoring, learning and evaluation (PMLE) framework. As a member of the Operations Unit, she provides project support to the programmatic units and assists with the organisation’s financial administration. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) specialising in Sociology from the University of Cape Town, and previously worked as an Advocacy and Investigations Intern at Open Secrets from 2019 to 2020.

Ariella is the Head of the Legal Unit at Open Secrets. She leads work on the organisation’s push for legal accountability for unjust profiteers, working across regulatory bodies, litigation and other legal mechanisms.
Ariella has a particular interest in harnessing worker and social movement power to hold corporations to account through partnerships across the Global South.
She holds a Bachelor of Social Science and LLB from the University of Cape Town, and a Masters in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford. She has practiced as an attorney for over a decade, with experience across labour law and policy, socio-economic rights and business and human rights.

Hennie is the founding Director of Open Secrets and has over twenty five years’ experience working on issues of economic crime and accountability from within civil society including as an investigative journalist, campaigner, policy researcher and manager. Hennie is the author of Apartheid Guns & Money: A Tale of Profit (2017 & 2018) and co-author of The Devil in the Detail: How the Arms Deal Changed Everything (2011). He holds degrees from Wits University and the Free University in Berlin.

Luthando Vilakazi is a legal professional whose work bridges the worlds of law, social justice, and sustainability. She obtained her LLB from the University of Cape Town, where she developed a strong interest in the legal frameworks governing natural resources and environmental protection. She went on to complete her articles with a particular focus on corporate mining and environmental law, gaining first-hand insight into the intersection of commercial imperatives, regulatory compliance and environmental stewardship. At Open Secrets, Luthando’s work tackles the ways in which corporate greed plays a significant role in state capture, international criminal conduct and environmental harm.