A lawyer from Zimbabwe, Yvonne is a recipient of the International Advocates Animal Law Scholarship. She attained her law degree from the University of Zimbabwe in 2010. After obtaining her degree, she worked with the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe as a Principal Public Prosecutor for nine years, prosecuting wildlife crimes from the Magistrates Court up to the High Court of Zimbabwe.
Before joining the Animal Law LLM program, Yvonne was the Legal Manager for Speak Out for Animals, a nonprofit focusing on protecting animals through the legal system in Zimbabwe. She has been involved in the capacity building trainings for investigators, prosecutors, and magistrates on combating wildlife crime in Zimbabwe. She has also been involved in the development of the first Rapid Reference Guide, a toolkit for prosecutors in Zimbabwe. She has been actively involved in case monitoring of all wildlife crime cases, which led to improved investigations and prosecutions. In addition, she has conducted wildlife crime baseline surveys in Zimbabwe.
Yvonne has certificates in animal law and wildlife crime short courses. She is passionate about animals and her vision is to contribute to the growth and development of domestic, farmed, and wild animal laws in Zimbabwe and abroad. The animal welfare laws are outdated, and it is her desire to lobby for better and effective animal welfare laws. The criminal justice system has always been her area, and she aspires to see animal abusers punished. To Yvonne, animals are sentient beings who deserve justice too. She has no doubt that with this specialized Animal Law LLM program she will be able to broaden her requisite knowledge on animal welfare and rights and influence decisions that are in the best interests of animals for the benefit of present and future generations. She has always wanted to be a voice for the voiceless.
Read some of Yvonne’s work here.