Kagiso Trust appoints attorney Ayanda Khumalo to its board

The Kagiso Trust has appointed attorney Ayanda Khumalo to its board. She is a trustee of the Alliance for Rural Democracy, which seeks to protect land rights in the former Bantustans, and a former board member of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. She is also the current Chairperson of Boxing South Africa.

Kagiso Trust board chairperson, Mankone Ntsaba says Khumalo graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from Wits University in 2007 and worked as a pro bono attorney at Webber Wentzel for 10 years.

“She then spent three years as the company secretary and head of legal at the South African National AIDS Council, and she was the head of the director-general’s office at the Department of Health before returning to pro bono legal work,” says Ntsaba.

“In all her roles, Ayanda has worked at the intersection of civil society, government and the law, and her achievements include drafting the human rights goal in the National Strategic Plan on HIV/AIDS, securing approval for the use of new TB and cancer drugs, and representing clients who had faced discrimination based on their HIV or TB status.

“Ayanda was also instrumental in establishing an advice line through Legal Aid SA for individuals discriminated against based on their HIV and TB status, and she has represented clients from various African countries seeking refugee status.”

Ntsaba says Khumalo’s legal expertise also covers corporate governance for nonprofit organisations, and she has helped several communities to reclaim their land, going on to support them in setting up sustainable communal property associations.

“Ayanda’s commitment to working with people who are disadvantaged or discriminated against is obvious, and her broad experience in fighting for human rights and social justice will make her a valuable addition to our board of trustees,” she says.

Khumalo says Kagiso Trust’s work over 40 years as one of South Africa’s leading development agencies is an inspiration to everyone in the nonprofit sector. “The Trust’s emphasis on igniting human capacity strongly aligns with my approach to transforming society for the benefit of all South Africans,” she says. “I’m looking forward to finding ways to make a positive impact on the Trust’s work and governance.”

Established in 1985 during South Africa’s transformative years, Kagiso Trust is one of the country’s leading development agencies. For four decades, the Trust has been dedicated to creating a brighter future for South Africa’s most vulnerable communities by promoting equity and socio-economic inclusion. Through its innovative, bottom-up approach, Kagiso Trust has implemented scalable and sustainable development programmes across education, institutional capacity building, and socio-economic development.

In 2025, Kagiso Trust proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary, marking a legacy of impactful interventions and a commitment to igniting human capacity to solve critical challenges faced by the country. With over R2 billion invested in development and more than 1,800 programmes implemented, the Trust continues to drive meaningful socio-economic transformation from the bottom up.