ABOUT ME

My formative years

I attended Portavue Primary School from 1976 to 1982, followed by Manenberg High School from 1983 to 1987. Manenberg High, situated in the Cape Flats, remains deeply affected by the enduring legacies of apartheid. In 1985, I was awarded Western Province colours for track and field athletics. Having emerged from this socio-political context, I believe I can deeply relate to the experiences and challenges faced by our students. This background reinforces my commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive learning environment, ensuring that students receive the guidance and encouragement necessary for their academic and personal success.

The later years

In 1993, I obtained my Real Estate Licence, and established my own real estate company, called, Ashraf Booley Property Group CC. The company's key performance areas were strategic planning, financial management, property development as well as legal aspects(rezoning, transfers, contracts, rentals, etc).

In 1994, I joined the legal firm Z. Abdurahman Attorneys, based in Elsies River on the Cape Flats, where the lasting effects of apartheid remain deeply visible. I served as the firm's manager until 2010, overseeing key operational and administrative functions. My responsibilities included maintaining bookkeeping records, liaising with clients, personnel, attorneys, and advocates, accompanying legal practitioners to court, monitoring case progress, delegating workloads, recruiting attorneys and candidate attorneys, and procuring legal work, particularly in conveyancing.

During this period, I pursued my LLB degree through distance learning at UNISA. However, the reliance on postal correspondence led to significant delays, making this mode of study impractical. Recognizing the need for a more structured learning environment, I transitioned to the University of the Western Cape, where I completed my LLB in 2009 as a part-time student. Balancing professional commitments, I attended evening classes and, whenever possible, participated in full-time lectures to ensure a comprehensive legal education.

Seeds for an academic career

I joined the Faculty of Law in 2011 after 15 years in private legal practice and successfully completed my LLM within a year. I was selected to participate in the Associate Lecturer Doctoral Programme (ALDO), an initiative introduced by the then Dean, Professor Sloth-Nielsen. This programme, designed to develop and fast-track doctoral candidates, was contract-based, with no guarantee of permanent employment.

As associate lecturers, we were assigned a slightly lighter teaching load than full-time lecturers but were not granted time off, marking relief, or lecture relief. The four of us in the programme were expected to navigate academia with minimal formal guidance, requiring us to quickly adapt to the demands of teaching and research. However, the mentorship and support of Professors van der Poll, Moosa, and Sloth-Nielsen were instrumental in my academic development.

The ALDO programme aimed to cultivate homegrown academic talent and accelerate the completion of doctoral research within three years. Participants were expected to engage in rigorous research, present at both local and international conferences, and publish in accredited academic journals, thereby contributing meaningfully to scholarly discourse.

I registered my doctoral thesis in 2011. In spite of teaching large groups of students in the first, second and third year of the then LLB curriculum; I managed to complete my thesis in three years under the guidance of Professor Letetia van der Poll.

During the 3 year period (doctoral period), I taught, The Law of Things, THI 211, second year module, Customary Law, CUS 121, Sale and Lease 431, a final year elective, Public International Law PUB 321, a third module, Legal Interpretation 221, a second year module, and Constitutional Law 202, a second year module.

Since 2011 to date I have lectured the following modules, namely, Sale and Lease (second semester 2020 to date, I am also the module coordinator), The Law of Contract (year module 2020 to date, I am also the module coordinator), Customary Law (second semester 2012, again in 2016 - 2018), Public International Law (second semester 2013 - 2018), Legal Interpretation (second semester 2014), Constitutional Law (year module 2014 - 2016), Law of Property/Things (first semester 2012), Law of Sale and Lease (second semester in 2011), and Public International Law (first semester 2011 for the first time).

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