Bio

Senior Lecturer, Commercial Law

Director, Corporate Law and Corporate Governance Unit, University of Cape Town 

Attorney of the High Court of South Africa

Dr Mikovhe Williams is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Commercial Law at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa. She is also an Associate Legal Coordinator and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Telluride Association (Ithaca, New York), where she contributes to governance, legal oversight, and strategic leadership.

She holds a PhD and Master of Laws (LLM) in Commercial Law from UCT, and an LLB from the University of Limpopo. Her scholarship is firmly rooted in corporate law and internal corporate governance, with a particular emphasis on sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), shared value, stakeholder governance, and labour stability within companies operating in South Africa and the Global South.

Dr Williams’ doctoral research, titled Promoting Labour Relations Stability under Company Law: A Critical Analysis of Internal Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa, advances an original conception of internal CSR as a governance mechanism that complements labour law through company law institutions such as the Social and Ethics Committee. Her work contributes to contemporary debates on corporate accountability, ESG governance, and the regulation of multinational enterprises in developing economies.

Her research has attracted significant international recognition and collaboration. She has been a Grotius Research Scholar at the University of Michigan Law School (USA) and an International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU) Scholar representing UCT at the University of Cambridge, where she worked with the Institute for Sustainability Leadership on climate change, CSR, business ethics, and development governance.

Since 2015, Dr Williams has received over thirteen national and international awards and fellowships, reflecting sustained academic excellence and leadership in corporate law scholarship.
 

Teaching

Business Law I (CML1001F/CML1004S)
Company law ( CML2001F/ CML2001F)
Corporations law (CML3001W)
Company Law, Labour law and Corporate Governance (CML5692F)
 

Publications

Publications in accredited journals

Maphiri, M., & Idowu, S. O. (2025). ESG disclosures in the Southern African Development Community. Springer.

Maphiri, M. (2025). A critique of the role of social and ethics committees in amplifying the stakeholder voice under company law in South Africa: Lessons from the UK Corporate Governance Code. In ESG disclosures in the Southern African Development Community: Accountability, shared value and regulatory compliance (pp. 35–54). Springer.

Maphiri, M. (2023). Using the shared value business model to bridge the gap in South Africa’s energy crisis: An analysis of the shared value business model as a corporate governance strategy used to ameliorate the failure of Eskom. In The Elgar companion to corporate social responsibility and the Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 233–249). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Nanyemba, T., & Maphiri, M. (2022). The social and ethics committee and the protection of non-shareholder constituencies: Teething problems or no teeth at all? Stellenbosch Law Review, 33(3), 376–395.

Maphiri, M. (2022). Food security in South Africa: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic on creating sustainable value chains through corporate social responsibility (CSR). In Case studies on sustainability in the food industry: Dealing with a rapidly growing population (pp. 135–158). Springer International Publishing.

Maphiri, M., Matasane, M. A., & Mudimu, G. (2021). Challenges to the effective implementation of SDG 8 in creating decent work and economic growth in the Southern African hemisphere: Perspectives from South Africa, Lesotho and Zimbabwe. In Global challenges to CSR and sustainable development: Root causes and evidence from case studies (pp. 39–63). Springer International Publishing.

Maphiri, M. (2018). The suitability of South America’s business rescue procedure in the reorganization of small-to-medium-sized enterprises: Lessons from Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review, 8, 101. 

Non-peer reviewed publications
2019: Principles of Market Abuse Regulation: A Comparative South African Perspective. By Howard Chitimira. Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd. 2018. x + 158pp. book review in the South African Law Journal (2019).
 

International conference presentations

2022: Dr MC Maphiri and Dr N Madinga (University of Cape Town, South Africa) The efficacy of the Advertising Regulatory Board in facilitating corporate accountability for advertisements which perpetuates gender stereotypes and discrimination in South Africa: looking beyond brand reputation and image
2021: CSR in South Africa’s Banking Sector: a theory of non-effect (online conference hosted by the Global Corporate Governance institute - 7th International Conference on CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance
2018: Served as Organizer and Moderator for the 2018 Junior Scholars conference 13 – 14 April, University of Michigan Law School
2018: Maphiri Mikovhe. Confronting the Rhetoric of Multinational Enterprises Accountability for Environmental Rights Violations in South Africa (Conference presentation Nelson Mandela University Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, 14-17 October 2018)
2017: Maphiri Mikovhe. Visions of the future conference, 28 July 2017, University of Cambridge, Institute of Continuing Education, Madingley Hall, Madingley, England
2015: Maphiri Mikovhe. Business Rescue in South Africa and its practical application to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The Harry Crossley Foundation scholarship holders conference presentation 7 May 2015, Postgraduate Funding Office, University of Cape Town, 3rd Level, Otto Beit Building, University Avenue, Upper Campus

Prestigious awards & fellowships

2022: Global law and Business Academy Scholarship, University of Colombia, Faculty of Law, New York
2020-2023: Recipient of NRF (Black Academic Advancement Programme) BAAP grant
2018: Michigan Grotius Fellowship, awarded by the Michigan Law school for an LLM/SJD 2018
2018: The Telluride Association Residential Scholarship, Ann Abor Michigan. 2017-2019: NRF Scarce Skills Doctoral fellowship
2016-2018: The University of Cape Town’s Doctoral scholarship
2017: International Alliance of Research University scholarship awarded by Santander (awarded to one outstanding UCT student to participate in IARU in Cambridge University, United Kingdom)
2018: Miller-Sidgwick International Exchange Scholarship (awarded to one outstanding UCT student to engage in study abroad programme at the University of Michigan).
2016-2018: The Harry Crossley Fellowship awarded by UCT’s postgraduate funding centre for PhD degree in law
2016-2018: The Hans Middleman Open Society Bursary awarded by UCT’s postgraduate funding for PhD degree in law
2017-2018: The University of Michigan Grotius research Scholar fellowship
2016: Dean’s Fellow, fellowship awarded by the Dean of the Faculty of Law at UCT
2016: Law Faculty Endowment award scholarship for PhD degree in law
2015: The Harry Crossley Foundation Prestigious fellowship award for master’s degree at the UCT
2015: The University of Cape Town’s Masters Scholarship, awarded for LLM degree at (UCT). 2015: The National Research Foundation (NRF) Innovative Master’s degree scholarship awarded for LLM degree at (UCT)

Awarded but not accepted
2018: Michigan Grotius Fellowship, awarded by the Michigan Law school for an SJD/PhD programe