Advocate Zuberi Hamisi Ngoda is Senior Counsel at Leyrand Law Firm and an Advocate of the High Court of Tanzania, with more than two decades of experience spanning environmental advocacy, human rights, public administration and legal education.

He holds a Master of Laws from the prestigious Columbia Law School, Columbia University in the City of New York, USA. His postgraduate studies covered international human rights advocacy, environmental law, advanced corporate law, the state, the child and the law, law and development, and international criminal tribunals. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Dar es Salaam and is pursuing a PhD in Law at Ruaha Catholic University.

At Leyrand, Zuberi brings legal research and institutional experience to assignments involving environmental regulation, natural resources governance, property rights and NGO compliance. His background enables him to examine legal questions within their wider commercial, institutional and community context.

His work with the Lawyers’ Environmental Action Team encompassed environmental protection and human rights research, litigation, advocacy and community engagement. His assignments include reviewing Tanzanian environmental legislation and examining access to genetic resources and benefit sharing. He also served on a national steering committee supporting implementation of the Rio Multilateral Environmental Agreements and participated in strategic planning for WWF’s Eastern Africa Marine Ecosystem policy programme.

His previous roles include NGO registration, administration and budgeting at the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children, and programme development and training on rights-based approaches at Concern Worldwide Tanzania. Since 2009, his work at Ruaha Catholic University has encompassed teaching, research, consultancy and community outreach. He has also served as Executive Director of the university’s Human Rights Centre.