Dr. Johandri Wright

Postdoctoral Fellow, North-West University
Dr. Johandri Wright recently passed the Legal Practice Council (South Africa) Admission Examinations for admission as an attorney. In 2021 she finished her Law School (Practical Vocational Training) through the UNISA Legal Education and Development ( LEAD) program. She completed her Ph.D. in Law and Development at the NRF South African Research Chair: Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability (CLES) in 2021, where she was also employed as a Ph.D. Researcher. Dr. Wight also holds an LLB Degree (cum laude) and a Professional LLM in Criminal Law and Procedure (cum laude).
A passion of ensuring a better life for South Africans drives her research. Her Ph.D. research and emanating publications focus on the phenomenon of public sector corruption in municipalities and how good governance and financial sustainability could be employed in the prevention of corruption. She is a strong believer in improving the quality of life for all and devoted one year to serve articles at the NWU Law Clinic in Potchefstroom where she was able to utilise her LLB to serve the community.
Dr. Wright received multiple awards for academic excellence throughout her studies, including the Best LLB Student for the 2014 and 2015 academic years and the Best LLM student in Criminal Law and Procedure in 2018. Dr. Wright has presented guest lectures on public procurement and municipal budgeting and presented papers at international and national conferences on issues of corruption and municipal governance. Dr. Wright co-published an academic article on municipal financial management in 2022 in Law, Democracy and Development journal; and, in 2022 co-published another academic article in the Zeitschrift Verfassung und Recht in Ubersee on national and provincial intervention in municipal governance. Dr. Wright was also involved in the implementation of funded research projects at CLES such as the SACN (BEITT) Municipal Spatial Transformation Legislative Analysis Project and the SALGA/CLES project Public Procurement in the Local Government Context in South Africa over the Last 25 Years. She was also the Editor-in-Chief of the CLES in-house newsletter CLES InPress. Dr. Wright is also a member of both the Environmental Law Association and the Golden Key International Honour Society.