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Dr Sitha Nkomo

About

Dr Sithandweyinkosi Nkomo

Environment, sustainability and climate justice leader, energy law scholar and climate rights advocate, working across Southern and Eastern Africa.

Years
0+
Countries
0
Development Studies
PhD
Dr Sithandweyinkosi Nkomo beside the Zimbabwean flag, SOWA 2026

Profile

Background

I'm a Zimbabwean scholar-practitioner. For over a decade I have worked across Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya and Eswatini — beginning in humanitarian response and food security in the field, and moving through gender and livelihoods programming into regional climate and environmental rights coordination.

Today I lead environmental rights and climate programming for Terre des Hommes Germany's Africa Office, and serve as the regional focal point for human and environmental rights defence. The role covers cross-border programme design, partnership grants of more than EUR 5.8 million, and representation at the UNFCCC COPs, the Africa Climate Summit and the AU ACERWC working group on children's rights and climate change.

Alongside that I chair the board of Ecoclimate Vision, lead the climate change branch of the Joining Forces Africa alliance, and have mentored young climate leaders through UNDP. I completed my PhD in Development Studies in 2025 and am currently reading for an LLM in Environment and Energy Law at the University of Birmingham.

I write, research and advise on climate governance, environmental rights, ESG and community resilience, and I am available for speaking, advisory and board roles.

Dr Sithandweyinkosi Nkomo at the SOWA 2026 ceremony

Award

Africa's Top 100 Female Leaders

Women in Environment, Sustainability & Climate Justice

SOWA 2026 · 5 September 2026

Approach

Principles

Rights-based approach

Environmental protection framed as a legal entitlement, grounded in constitutional and statutory environmental rights.

Evidence into action

Research, monitoring and evaluation used to shape programme design and policy advocacy.

Community-led solutions

Local capacity for climate adaptation and sustainable livelihoods built with communities, not for them.

Youth and community participation

Young people and communities involved in climate programming, in partnership with regional structures including SADC and the AU ACERWC.

Indigenous knowledge

Customary governance and indigenous knowledge treated as part of legitimate local adaptation systems.

Career

Timeline

Education and professional milestones, 2005 to present.

  1. 2005 – 2010

    BSc Environmental Health

    Solusi University, Bulawayo — where the public-health grounding began.

  2. 2014 – 2020

    Field work in food security and WASH

    Lean season assistance in Zimbabwe: supervising 32 field and operations staff, and establishing the water and sanitation department that linked water management to climate-smart agriculture.

  3. 2015 – 2017

    MSc Development Studies

    National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo.

  4. 2018 – 2019

    Gender and sustainable livelihoods

    Coordinating the Triple D Women Indaba for Women of Zimbabwe Arise — advocacy on gender-based violence, and training women in livelihoods and market access.

  5. 2021 – Present

    Regional climate and environmental rights coordination

    Terre des Hommes Germany, Africa Office — multi-country programming across five countries and partnership grants above EUR 5.8 million.

  6. 2020 – 2025

    PhD, Development Studies

    National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo.

  7. 2024 – Present

    Board Chairperson, Ecoclimate Vision

    Chairing the board of a Global South climate organisation.

  8. 2025 – 2027

    LLM Environment and Energy Law

    University of Birmingham — in progress.

  9. September 2026

    SOWA 2026 — Africa's Top 100 Female Leaders

    Winner in the category Women in Environment, Sustainability & Climate Justice.

Current role

Terre des Hommes (TDH) Germany — Africa Office

Designs and leads multi-country climate and environmental rights programming across Southern and Eastern Africa, and serves as the Africa office focal point for human and environmental rights defence.

  • Coordinates multi-country, multi-project initiatives across Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa and Kenya, integrating child rights, livelihoods, water management, health, education and environmental sustainability into programme design and implementation.
  • Leads strategic programme operations across climate and human rights initiatives, translating regional objectives into structured delivery through project management, workflow optimisation and compliance systems.
  • Manages programme finance, grant administration and financial planning, including partnership grants worth more than EUR 5.8 million.
  • Oversees remote and multi-country team coordination, supporting performance, accountability and cross-functional collaboration.
  • Strengthens monitoring, evaluation and learning systems through process improvement and digital workflows.
  • Serves as regional focal point for multi-jurisdictional compliance, ensuring technical documentation, donor reporting and operational strategy align with legal and regulatory standards.
  • Established and maintains networks and alliances with AU and UN bodies, collaborates with INGOs, and leads the climate change branch of the Joining Forces Africa alliance.
  • Represents the organisation in international and regional policy spaces, including the COPs, the Africa Climate Summit and other high-level forums.

Education

Academic training

  • 2020 – 2025

    Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Development Studies

    National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo

  • 2025 – 2027

    In progress

    Master of Law (LLM), Environment and Energy Law

    University of Birmingham

  • 2015 – 2017

    Master of Science (MSc), Development Studies

    National University of Science and Technology, Bulawayo

  • 2005 – 2010

    Bachelor of Science (BSc), Environmental Health

    Solusi University, Bulawayo

Certification

Professional certificates

  • 2025

    Climate Change and Health

    Yale University

  • 2025

    Gender and Environment e-Course

    UNITAR

  • 2023

    ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems Awareness

    Knights of Safety

  • 2026

    Diploma in ESG and Sustainability

    Udemy

Competencies

  • Climate governance and environmental rights
  • Climate justice, adaptation, and loss and damage
  • Children’s environmental rights and intergenerational justice
  • Environmental law, policy analysis and rights-based advocacy
  • Diplomatic coalition-building across diverse African contexts
  • Adaptive strategy execution in resource-constrained settings
  • Climate vulnerability, mobility and community resilience
  • Multi-stakeholder governance across UN agencies, governments, donors and civil society
  • Research, knowledge management and publication writing
  • Monitoring, evaluation, learning and data-informed programming
  • Training, facilitation and institutional capacity building
  • Strategic planning, operations and cross-functional coordination

Based in

Harare, Zimbabwe

Email

connect@drsthankomo.com

Research profiles

ORCIDAcademia.eduLinkedIn

Enquiries

Speaking, advisory and research collaboration

Keynotes and panels, policy and technical advisory, board service, and co-authored research.