Dr. Mandela formerly served as Head of Office for JHR’s project focused on strengthening media, human rights and supporting the peace process in South Sudan. He is also a Eugene J. McCarthy Center for Public Policy and Civil engagement Scholar in Residency at Saint John’s University and College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota, United States. Dr. Mandela holds a Master of Philosophy in Conflict Transformation and Management and a Ph.D. in International Relations and Conflict Resolution from the Department of Politics and History at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. He was a visiting Scholar Affiliate at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR) at George Mason University in 2018.

Born and bred in the rural areas of Qunu in the Eastern Province of South Africa, Dr. Mandela is passionate about conflict resolution and development in Africa, a continent characterized by chronic conflicts and underdevelopment. His doctoral thesis titled Preventive Diplomacy and Conflict Provention in Africa: Examining South Africa's role in Conflict resolution in Democratic Republic of Congo, argued for the hybrid approach to the resolution of African conflicts, paying specific attention to the frustration of basic human needs and an urgency for institutional and structural change in African governments in order to achieve stability, durable peace, and development and ultimately realize “an Africa that is developed and at peace with itself”. His career interests and expertise include diplomacy, Human Rights Advocacy, international relations, African politics, conflict resolution, foreign policy and history. Dr. Mandela, has delivered academic papers, published book chapters and spoke on topics of human rights, development, peace, reconstruction and conflict resolution in Africa and globally, on different parts of the World including Italy; Portugal; United States; Canada; Republic of Ecuador, Brazil etc.