Lwando Xaso
Lwando Xaso is a lawyer, writer, speaker, conscious promoter of constitutionalism and aspiring historian. She came of age during South Africa’s transition from Apartheid to democracy. As a result, her political orientation has been largely shaped by Mandela’s presidency, which showed her what South Africa is capable of achieving against the greatest odds.
Because of these formative years, Lwando pursued a career as a constitutional lawyer. She started out in private practice at some of South Africa's biggest firms. She then had the opportunity to clerk for the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Her outlook was further shaped by her experience of clerking for Justice Edwin Cameron, which deepened her respect and complexities of the South African Constitution, and what it really means for a people to strive within an unjust and equal society to make the Constitution real in the face of a neglectful government. She was awarded the Franklin Thomas Fellowship to pursue her LLM in International Law at the University of Notre Dame.
Over the years, Lwando has written on constitutional matters for various publications, including The Daily Maverick and Business Day. In 2020, she joined the Constitution Hill Trust to promote constitutional education and to support the development of an exhibition for a new museum that will tell the story of how the South African Constitution was made.
She also left private practice to establish her own consultancy, Including Society, which explores how we can build a society that is reflective of our constitutional commitments and aspirations. She is the author of Made in South Africa; A Black Woman's Stories of Rage, Resistance and Progress, published in 2020.