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SOCIETY OF CONSTRUCTION LAW FOR AFRICA
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SCLA Committee Members
The Society for Construction Law Africa is guided by a committee comprising professionals from across the construction and legal industries. The committee is responsible for supporting the Society’s objectives, organising events and initiatives, and promoting engagement within the construction law community.
Below is an introduction to the current committee members.
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Henk Louw - Chairman
Henk Louw obtained a BCom LLB from the University of Johannesburg in 1989 and was admitted as an advocate in 1990. He began his career as a state advocate in the Department of Justice, specialising in large-scale national and international commercial crime matters. Called to the Bar in 1996, his practice focuses primarily on commercial litigation and arbitration, with experience in contract, insolvency, insurance, delict and criminal law.
He has acted internationally, including in Lesotho, where he was appointed as a specialist commercial crime prosecutor and admitted to the Law Society of Lesotho. Henk is a Commercial Panel member of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK).
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Sean Gibbs - Vice-chairman
Sean Gibbs is the CEO of Hanscomb Intercontinental Ltd in the United Kingdom, a global expert witness consultancy specialising in construction and engineering disputes. With more than 30 years’ international experience, his primary expertise is in quantum, and he regularly acts as an expert witness, arbitrator, adjudicator, expert determiner and dispute board member.
Sean has held senior commercial and directorial positions in both contracting and consultancy firms and has worked across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. His project experience spans major infrastructure, energy, transport, industrial and commercial developments.
He serves as Chair of The Adjudication Society, is a Council Member of the Society of Construction Law (UK), Region 2 Director of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, and a FIDIC President’s List Adjudicator and Mediator.
Stoffel Ackermann - Founding Member
Stoffel Ackermann is a Director of STBB and is based at the firm’s Tyger Valley and Cape Town offices. He joined STBB in 1999 in the litigation department and specialises in commercial and construction law litigation. He currently heads the firm’s construction law department and has extensive experience in construction-related disputes and advisory work.
Stoffel is a founding member of the Society for Construction Law Africa (SCLA) and has played an active role in supporting the development and advancement of construction law and dispute resolution within the industry.
Johan Beyers - Founding Member
Beyers has practised as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa for more than 30 years, specialising in domestic and international arbitrations involving construction, engineering, energy, mining, information technology and commercial disputes. He holds BA(Law) and LLB degrees from Stellenbosch University, as well as an MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution from King’s College London, where he received the Arbitration Club “Philip Raner” Prize.
His practice includes advising and representing employers, contractors and consultants across Africa, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and South America. He has served as an acting High Court judge, arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator and legal expert. Beyers is a co-founder and former chairperson of the Society of Construction Law Africa and a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators
Michael Bester - Secretary
Michael Bester has been an architect in private practice in Cape Town since 1995, specializing in contract management, arbitration, adjudication, and expert evidence in building industry-related disputes.
He is a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators, and has significant experience in practice-related matters within the architectural profession. He has also worked in the field of professional ethics, and both participated in and chaired tribunals related to both architects and quantity surveyors. He holds a doctorate in theology from Oxford University, and is a published ecclesiastical historian
Giselle Ruther - Treasurer
Giselle Rüther is a practicing advocate and member of the Cape Bar, specializing in Construction Law and General Commercial Litigation.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Cape Town. Prior to joining the Bar, Giselle gained experience practicing as an admitted attorney. In 2015, she completed her pupillage and formally transitioned to the role of an advocate.
Over her 11 years at the Cape Bar, Giselle has developed a robust practice focused on complex construction disputes, contract law, and commercial litigation. Committed to advancing her field, she has served as the treasurer of the Society for Construction Law for Africa since 2017.
Ntandazo Vimba
Ntandazo Vimba is a seasoned and dynamic attorney with over 20 years of experience in both corporate and private practice. He is the Director of Vimba and Associates Incorporated. His areas of specialisation include Public Procurement Law, Public Infrastructure Policy, Corporate Governance Law, Engineering Contracts, Infrastructure Financing Law, Financial Regulatory and Carbon Offset Practice, and Institutional Development.
Mr Vimba has held various executive and leadership roles within government, including serving as Legal Advisor at the Department of Labour, where he was responsible for drafting and interpreting contracts, providing legal opinions, and formulating litigation strategy for the department. He also served as State Law Advisor in the Office of the Premier in Limpopo, where he provided state law advisory services, drafted and certified legislation, and drafted, reviewed, and vetted contracts.
He further served as Senior Legal Advisor at SASSA, where his responsibilities included drafting, reviewing, vetting, and managing commercial contracts, managing litigation strategy, and preparing briefs for counsel. In addition, Mr Vimba served as Executive Manager: Legal and Contracts Management, and later as Chief Executive Officer, at the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA).
His qualifications include an LLM in Mercantile Law from the University of Pretoria, a Postgraduate Diploma in Drafting and Interpretation of Contracts from the University of Johannesburg, and a BProc from Walter Sisulu University (formerly the University of Transkei).
Edgar Agaba
Mr Agaba holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Makerere University, a Master’s degree in Public Procurement Law and Policy from the University of Nottingham, and a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre. He was called to the Bar in 1997.
He has more than 17 years’ experience advising governments and institutions on procurement, privatisation, contracting, compliance, and public policy. Prior to entering private practice, he served for nine years as Executive Director of the Procurement Authority. His expertise includes government procurement and contracting, transaction and risk advisory, public-private partnerships, finance and trade, due diligence, and commercial transactions.
Mr Agaba has extensive experience with World Bank, African Development Bank and United Nations procurement regimes, and serves on several professional and corporate boards across Uganda and the COMESA region.
Riaan Booysen
Riaan Booysen holds BCom (Law) and LLB degrees from the University of Pretoria, together with specialised qualifications in international commercial arbitration, mediation, mergers and acquisitions, and project planning. He has also completed advanced mediation training at Harvard Law School and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (UK).
His practice spans adjudication, arbitration, mediation and litigation across a wide range of sectors, including construction and infrastructure, banking and finance, procurement, mining, labour, corporate and public law. He regularly advises and represents clients in complex commercial and dispute resolution matters.
Riaan is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), and a member of the General and Commercial Panel of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA).
Samantha Reyneke
Samantha Reyneke, a Director at NSDV Law, is a seasoned litigator and construction law specialist with expertise in dispute resolution and the proactive commercial management of projects.
She advises on bespoke and standard-form construction contracts, has extensive experience in mediations and adjudications, and frequently arbitrates under the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC, Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa, ICC and UNCITRAL Rules.
In addition to her legal practice and serving on the Committee of the Society of Construction Law for Africa, Samantha also serves as a Director and Management Committee member of the Association of Arbitrators, a Fellow and adjudicator and arbitrator,a Tutor for its Specialisation in Construction Law Course, and regularly lectures construction professionals as an Alusani® Course Leader and lecturer for Enterprises University of Pretoria
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Roelf Nel
Roelf Nel is the founder and director of Roelf Nel Incorporated and specialises in construction and engineering law, with a particular focus on infrastructure and energy projects. He advises employers, contractors and professionals on project execution, contract strategy, dispute avoidance and dispute resolution across the construction sector.
He obtained his LLB degree cum laude from the University of Pretoria and was admitted as an attorney in 2006. Roelf regularly acts in arbitration, adjudication, mediation and litigation proceedings, and is recognised for his practical approach to construction contract management and risk mitigation.
Roelf is a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators, a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and serves on the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa panel. He also presents accredited training on JBCC, FIDIC, NEC and GCC contracts throughout Southern Africa.
Sonia Guerra
Sonia Guerra is a Director at HKA South Africa and a non-practising attorney with more than seventeen years of legal and commercial experience in construction, infrastructure and energy disputes. She specialises in detailed quantum analysis and provides expertise in contract administration, claims analysis, commercial advisory services, arbitration and dispute resolution.
Her experience spans infrastructure, housing, energy, renewable energy, chemicals, and mining and metals projects. Sonia has extensive knowledge of standard-form construction contracts, including FIDIC, NEC, GCC and JBCC.
She holds a master’s degree in construction law and arbitration and is a Practising Associate of the Academy of Experts. Sonia has also served on the board of the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa and currently serves as a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
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