People's Legal Centre

Home
South Africa
Cape Town
People's Legal Centre

Directions Website Contact the organization

People’s Law is a paralegal education training programme with the aim of providing access to justice.

18/09/2026

At People’s Legal Centre, we know that true access to justice starts with empowering the people on the frontlines. This past September at Bertha House, we hosted a powerful series of training sessions designed to equip our community paralegals with the practical tools they need to advocate effectively for their communities.

We were privileged to be guided by a brilliant lineup of guest facilitators who brought both deep expertise and lived experience to the table. Credit repair specialist Nokubonga Swartbooi kicked things off by demystifying the often-intimidating credit ecosystem, teaching our participants how to navigate credit reports and challenge reckless credit agreements. Building on that foundation, Attorney Shean Rippenaar from the UWC Law Clinic walked our paralegals through the nuts and bolts of legal drafting, guiding them step-by-step from writing initial letters of demand to formulating formal particulars of claim. Rounding out the series, Attorney Odwa Nweba from the Stellenbosch University Law Clinic provided crucial, practical insights into consumer law and debt rights, bridging the gap between formal legal frameworks and grassroots realities.

Why does this matter? Because the legal and financial systems can often feel like an intimidating maze. When we arm our community paralegals with real, practical knowledge, we break down those barriers. They gain the confidence and skills to take concrete action, protect their neighbors from unfair practices, and drive justice from the ground up. The knowledge shared in these sessions doesn’t stay in the room; it ripples outward, transforming our advocates into formidable defenders of their communities.

A massive thank you to Nokubonga, Shean, Odwa, and our partners at the UWC and Stellenbosch Law Clinics. Together, we’re turning complex legal hurdles into community power.

11/08/2026

The fight to reimagine Cape Town's ward committee rules continues.

Join us with at series as we unite community voices and consolidate proposals before any new rules are drafted.

We are calling on leaders from every ward committee sector, youth, women, labour, business, faith communities, civic organisations, education, people living with disabilities, older persons, sport, arts and culture, environmental groups, neighbourhood watches, and community development, to help shape a ward
committee system that is truly democratic, inclusive, and accountable.

Your community. Your voice. Your rules.
Nothing about our communities without our communities.

07/08/2026

The fight to reimagine Cape Town's ward committee rules continues.

Join our final citywide workshop series as we unite community voices and consolidate proposals before any new rules are drafted.

We are calling on leaders from every ward committee sector, youth, women, labour, business, faith communities, civic organisations, education, people living with disabilities, older persons, sport, arts and culture, environmental groups, neighbourhood watches, and community development, to help shape a ward
committee system that is truly democratic, inclusive, and accountable.

Your community. Your voice. Your rules.
Nothing about our communities without our communities.

03/08/2026

The fight to reimagine Cape Town's ward committee rules continues.

Join our final citywide workshop series as we unite community voices and consolidate proposals before any new rules are drafted.

We are calling on leaders from every ward committee sector, youth, women, labour, business, faith communities, civic organisations, education, people living with disabilities, older persons, sport, arts and culture, environmental groups, neighbourhood watches, and community development, to help shape a ward committee system that is truly democratic, inclusive, and accountable.

Your community. Your voice. Your rules.
Nothing about our communities without our communities.

30/07/2026

Real participation starts long before the meeting begins.

If we want ward committees that truly represent our communities, we must arrive organised, informed, and united.

Have you mobilised your ward? Engaged leaders across every represented sector? Identified your community's priorities? Prepared to influence local planning

Don't just attend: organise. Don't just participate: lead.

Together, we're building a ward committee system that is democratic, inclusive, and accountable to the people.

29/07/2026

The fight to reimagine Cape Town's ward committee rules continues.

Join our final citywide workshop series as we unite community voices and consolidate proposals before any new rules are drafted.

We are calling on leaders from every ward committee sector, youth, women, labour, business, faith communities, civic organisations, education, people living with disabilities, older persons, sport, arts and culture, environmental groups, neighbourhood watches, and community development, to help shape a ward committee system that is truly democratic, inclusive, and accountable.

Your community. Your voice. Your rules.

Nothing about our communities without our communities.

28/07/2026

Whose voices are being heard...and whose are being left out?

These are the lived realities of residents navigating a ward committee system that too often excludes the communities it is meant to serve.

Ward committees are a cornerstone of participatory democracy, public participation, and local government accountability. Yet Cape Town's current system raises serious concerns about transparency, inclusion, and constitutional compliance.

We are calling on the City of Cape Town to rewrite its ward committee rules through a genuinely participatory process that centres the voices of all residents; especially those from historically excluded communities.

Listen to the people. Their experiences make the case for change.

07/07/2026

VICTORY FOR DIGNIFIED HOUSING!

The City of Cape Town has been forced to correct its unlawful tariff policy, allowing social housing tenants to access indigent benefits (free basic water, electricity & refuse removal).
Massive credit and recognition to the organised tenants of FCI (Goodwood Station) and the Housing Assembly !
This wasn't handed down as an act of goodwill; it was won through your relentless organizing, solidarity, and refusal to accept unlawful charges.

CALL TO ACTION: If you are a social housing tenant earning under R7,500/month, write to your landlord NOW to claim your benefits and copy [email protected] so we can track compliance.

Affordable housing is a right, not a privilege!

03/07/2026

Empowering Communities, One Paralegal at a Time:

From 9 February to 24 June 2026, our first Community Paralegal Course cohort for 2026 dedicated five months to learning, growing and strengthening their ability to serve their communities.

Today, we celebrate not only the completion of a course, but the beginning of a lifelong commitment to justice. Your dedication, perseverance and passion for standing alongside others have shown what it truly means to build bridges of justice where they are needed most.

Thank you for choosing to serve, to lead and to empower. Your communities are stronger because of you, and we cannot wait to see the impact you will continue to make.

02/07/2026

We're hiring!

People's Legal Centre is looking for a Litigation Attorney to join our growing Law Clinic in Mowbray, Cape Town.

If you're passionate about social justice, strategic litigation, and using the law to drive systemic change, we'd love to hear from you.

📢 Applications are now open: https://hashtagnonprofit.org/vacancies/litigation-attorney-at-the-peoples-legal-centre

Apply today and help shape a more just society.

Address

Cape Town

Website

https://peopleslegalcentre.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when People's Legal Centre posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to People's Legal Centre:

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in Cape Town?