Meet the Team
The iNtaka Centre is open to all University of Cape Town (UCT) law faculty students and staff who wish to collaborate on exploring the intersection between technology and the legal fields that they are particularly interested in.
The core team of student researchers is led and supervised by the iNtaka Centre's director and managed by our KAS-iNtaka Fellow.
Dr. Tobias Schonwetter is an Associate Professor, the Director of the Intellectual Property Unit and the Founding Director of the iNtaka Law Tech Centre at the University of Cape Town's law faculty. He teaches IP and IT law. He currently leads several development and innovation oriented research and capacity building projects, including Open AIR (www.openair.africa). He regularly advises various government and non-governmental entities on issues relating to IP and, in particular, copyright and open access. In 2018, Tobias became an Associate Member of the Centre of Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa, Canada; and in 2019 he joined the Department of Science and Innovation’s Open Science Advisory Board.
Previously, Tobias was a Senior Manager - Technology and Innovation Law - at PwC South Africa, the Regional Coordinator for Africa and Legal Lead in South Africa for the Creative Commons Corporation, a guest editor for the African Journal of Information and Communication and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town's Intellectual Property Research Unit. Over the years, Tobias was involved in numerous research projects, including the Open Review of the South African Copyright Act 1978 project, the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) project, the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries (ODDC) initiative, the African Scholars for Knowledge Justice (ASK Justice) project, the WikiPrimary project and the Open and Collaborative Science in Development network (OCSDnet) and One Ocean Hub.
Tobias studied and practised law in Germany and holds Ph.D. and LL.M. degrees from the University of Cape Town.
Olga holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University. She is an advocate of the Courts of Judicature in Uganda and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is the 2026 recipient of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung iNtaka Scholarship in Law and Technology. Olga is currently pursuing an LLM in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Cape Town.
Her practice focuses on the intersection of law and technology, helping various stakeholders navigate the legal questions that innovation creates. She is particularly focused on interrogating how emerging technologies disrupt established legal frameworks and building practical solutions to address these shifts, particularly in AI regulation, innovation policy, and intellectual property protection as it evolves to meet the demands of the digital age.
Olga serves as Vice Chairperson of the Steering Committee of Uganda’s National Research and Innovation Programme under the auspices of the Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat. She was also a tech policy fellow at the Centre for Law and Emerging Technologies at Makerere University.
Research Assistant
Ruth Rukwaro
Research Assistant
Ruth holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Strathmore University and is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya practicing with Africa Law Partners.
She is currently pursuing an LLM in Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town. She is undertaking the General Course on Intellectual Property offered by the WIPO Academy. She is also volunteering as a researcher at the iNtaka Centre for Law and Technology.
Her practice focuses on contract management for startups in the technology sector and data protection compliance and training of various companies and institutions. She is particularly interested in the intersection of data governance as a complementary policy tool to implementing data protection laws within Africa.
Natalie Lumumba is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with a multi-disciplinary background in law, international development, research, and communications. Natalie is currentlly pursuing a masters in commercial law at the Unviersity of Cape Town.
At Oversight Lab Africa, she supported strategic initiatives for the Africa Tech Workers Movement, focusing on leadership development, advocating for fair automated decision-making to combat algorithmic discrimination, and pursuing precedent-setting strategic litigation promoting just and equitable digital futures across the African technology ecosystem. Previously at Internews, Natalie collaborated with local civil society organizations across 39 countries for the Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project to ensure an open and secure Internet and enhance digital security for at-risk communities. She was a tech policy fellow at the Lawyer’s Hub, where she monitored and analyzed emerging digital rights legislation and policy developments across the East African region and globally. While at Human Rights Watch, she defended the economic, social, and civil rights of residents along the Kenyan Coast through the Okoa Mombasa coalition.
Natalie is also passionate about women's rights, supporting organizations such as Equality Now, Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders and Usawa in their advocacy efforts to advance gender equality and combat gender based violence, including Tech-Facilitated GBV.
Natalie Lumumba
Research Assistant
Thomas Alfred
Research Assistant
Thomas Alfred is a legal researcher focused on the relationship between law, technology, and governance. Currently pursuing an LLM at the University of Cape Town, his work examines social media governance within South Africa’s constitutional framework, with a particular interest in how digital platforms shape accountability, regulation, and rights.
At the University of the Witwatersrand, Thomas distinguished himself through both academic performance and legal research, earning honours-level distinction in Information Technology Law and producing one of the top-ranked research essays in his year. His work at Wits developed a strong foundation in technology law, corporate governance, and the regulatory challenges created by digital systems.
Thomas’s research profile has also gained wider recognition. In 2026, he was awarded Best Postgraduate Speaker at the African Cyber Law Conference, where he presented his LLM research on contemporary cyber law issues. This achievement reflects his ability to engage critically with complex legal questions and communicate them clearly in leading academic and professional spaces.
His practical experience includes legal and policy research within the Legal Resources Centre’s Big Tech Unit, as well as work in privacy, commercial contracting, and technology law. At iNtaka, Thomas brings a focused background in legal research, technology governance, and contemporary regulatory issues.
