CACS Staff
Prof David Monyae
Director, CACS
Prof David Monyae is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Johannesburg, and Director of the Centre for Africa-China Studies. Prof Monyae is an international relations and foreign policy expert, with a PhD in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand. He previously served as Section Manager: International Relations Policy Analysis at the South African Parliament, providing strategic management, parliamentary foreign policy formulation, and monitoring and analysis services. He has published widely and is a respected political analyst, featuring in national and international media.
Dr Emmanuel Matambo
Research Director
Dr Emmanuel Matambo is the Research Director at the CACS. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interests include Africa-China relations, terrorism in Africa, subnational politics and constructivism in International Relations. From August to November 2019, he was a Fall Scholar in the Africa Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. In 2020, he was appointed as a Fellow of the Atlantic Council’s Millennium Leadership Program.
Koffi M. Kouakou
Senior Research Fellow
Koffi M. Kouakou is a Senior Research Fellow at the CACS; managing director of Stratnum Futures, a scenario planning, futures, strategy consulting and advisory firm based in Pretoria; and a director of the South Africa Node of the Millennium Programme, based in Washington, D.C., which deals with planetary futures and foresight-based activities and produces the authoritative annual publication State of the Future. He also lectures at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) in Johannesburg. He is a former director of the Unilever Mandela Rhodes Academy for Communications and Marketing Academy (UMRA) at Wits University, and a former senior lecturer at the Wits School of Governance.
Dr Sizo Nkala
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Dr Sizo Nkala is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the CACS. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His research interests are China-Africa relations in the technology, media and economic spheres, African political-economy, immigration, and global politics.
Dr Mengshu Zhan
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Dr Mengshu Zhan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the CACS. She holds a PhD from the Centre for Global Studies at Bonn University in Germany. Her research interests include China-Africa relations, and EU-China-Africa Trilateral relations with a focus on the economy, infrastructure and energy.
Lebo Mosebua
Senior Manager
Lebo Mosebua is a Senior Manager at the CACS. She has worked in the Higher Education sector for more than ten years. She previously worked as a Support Specialist at the SANRC and the School of Leadership. She holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree with a focus on Project Management, and is a certified Public Relations and Communications Practitioner. She also holds additional qualifications in Management Services from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at UJ, a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Science from the University of South Africa (UNISA), and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from the Regent Business School.
Zizipho Masiza
Operations specialist
Zizipho Masiza is an Operations Specialist at the Centre for Africa-China Studies. She holds an Honours degree in Digital Marketing from Regent Business School, a National Diploma in Public Relations and Communication Sciences from the University of Johannesburg, and a Certificate in Generic Management. Zizipho has more than eight years’ experience in the Higher Education sector.
Goitseone Maswabi
Research and Media Coordinator
Goitseone Maswabi is Research and Media Coordinator at the CACS. She holds an Honours degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Johannesburg, and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA). Her research interests are in security, political risk analysis and international law.
Edmund Terem Ugar
Research Assistant
Edmund Terem Ugar is a Research Assistant at the CACS, and a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at UJ. His doctoral research focuses on developing medical artificial intelligence for clinical diagnosis that respects principles such as Justice and Fairness. He has won numerous prestigious awards, including The Ambassador Prize from the Chinese Embassy in South Africa, the Fourth Industrial Revolution PhD competition at UJ, the Top Achiever award from the Faculty of Humanities at UJ, and the UJ Commonwealth scholarship.
Khensani Ntlemo
Executive Assistant
Khensani Ntlemo is an executive assistant at CACS. She holds an Honours degree in Industrial Sociology and a BA in Humanities from the University of Johannesburg. She is currently enrolled for a Masters Degree at UJ. Her study is situated within the broad field of the Sociology of Work and Work Restructuring.