Josh Ounsted

Head of Thematic Area-Access to Justice, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Sweden

Josh Ounsted is Head of the Thematic Area on Access to Justice. He previously directed RWI’s Regional Office in Nairobi worked with organizations such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defence of Human Rights. His career spans work in multiple countries,and particularly includes  extensive expertise from Africa, where he has engaged deeply with prison systems and criminal justice reform. He has designed and delivered trainings on the application of the Nelson Mandela Rules, ensuring their practical relevance within African contexts.

Tim Bisong

Lead Expert-African Study on Prisons, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), Gambia

Tim Bisong is a legal, judicial, and prison reform specialist with over 20 years of experience advancing justice and human dignity across Africa and beyond. He currently serves as Lead Expert for the continent-wide Study on Prisons commissioned by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). His career includes directing Justice The Gambia, leading projects under the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, and strengthening judicial practice through the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association. With expertise spanning French and English legal traditions, restorative justice programming, and comparative sentencing guidelines, Tim brings both international perspective and deep African experience in criminal justice reform—grounded in his own lived experience of incarceration.

Patricia Shumba Mavhembo M.A

Commissioner- Legal Services and Corporate Affairs, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, Zimbabwe

Ms. Patricia Shumba Mavhembu is a Commissioner responsible for Legal Services and Corporate Affairs with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS). She provides legal advisory support, coordinates human rights training and leads law and policy reform among other initiatives within the correctional system.  Commissioner Mavhembu holds a Bachelor of Laws Honors Degree with the University of Zimbabwe, Master’s in Women’s Law from the Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women’s Law (SEARCWL), University of Zimbabwe and a Master’s in Constitutional and Human Rights Law from Midlands State University. She is an experienced legal practitioner specialising in corrections law, human rights, criminal law, and women’s rights research. With over 15 years of service in corrections, including deployment with the United Nations, she demonstrates a strong commitment to justice, gender equality, and collaborative advancement of rights based correctional practices.