Kutlwano Magashula

South Africa, 2024
Executive Officer for Programs, The Other Foundation
Kutlwano Magashula (they/them) is a human rights activist and lawyer with a commitment to advancing freedom, recognition, and dignity for all through strategic advocacy and policy reform. Kutlwano champions issues of gender, social class, sexuality, race, and ability within the broader agenda of societal change. They hold a Masters in Law in Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Africa and have published extensively on LGBTI inclusion. Beginning as Prosecutions Counsel in the Directorate of Public Prosecutions of Botswana, Kutlwano transitioned to roles of significant impact in the human rights sector. This includes being the Regional Programmes Coordinator at the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) where they collaborated with activist groups across sub-Saharan Africa to spearhead advocacy campaigns addressing personal, institutional, and ideological change. Later they worked as a Sexual Rights Legal Researcher with the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa supporting strategic impact litigation to amplify the voices of women and other marginalized people in legal and policy frameworks.
Currently, Kutlwano serves as the Executive Officer for Programmes at The Other Foundation, overseeing grant management and advocating for the rights of LGBTI people in Southern Africa.
Kutlwano is instrumental in monitoring LGBTI policy advocacy efforts across national and regional levels, ensuring that the Foundation's programs remain effective and responsive to evolving challenges.
Kutlwano is a participant in the 2024-25 Human Rights Advocates Program at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University.