WHO WE ARE

Commissioner Chijozi is a passionate human rights lawyer with 17 years’ experience in human rights work. She has been a human rights activist since 2004 when she joined Centre for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) as a paralegal officer. She rose up the ladder in the organisation and became the Deputy Executive Director and Litigation Manager. She is a strong advocate for rights of marginalised groups including women, children, sex workers, LGBTIQ and prisoners. She has been involved in strategic litigation challenging laws that oppress the marginalised groups. The notable cases that she has been involved in, include, the laws on rogue and vagabond, laws that target and criminalise sex workers, challenging the policy that prevent Rastafari children from being enrolled and admitted into government schools and protecting children from unlawful and arbitrary arrests and detentions. Commissioner Chijozi holds a Master of Laws (International Human Rights Law) from University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. She is currently working for the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and she heads the Criminal Justice Program. Commissioner Chijozi is also a board member of IPAS Malawi, Youth and Society (YAS). In 2006 she was awarded at the first African Young Women Summit for outstanding work in human rights. She is also an active member of the Women Lawyers Association in Malawi. In 2020 she was awarded by the Women Lawyers Association as the best female lawyer in NGO sector. She is a member of the Malawi Law Society and serves as a member of the Public Interest Litigation Committee. She also has published some articles and research work on various human rights issues.