Yonela holds a BCom (Law) and LLB from the University of the Western Cape and she is currently completing her LLM in Ocean Governance at Nelson Mandela University (South Africa) where she focuses on maritime cybersecurity – a field she plans to explore further in her doctoral research.

She was admitted as an attorney in 2021 after having completed her articles at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and Knowles Husain Lindsay Inc. Yonela joined Caveat Legal in 2022 as a consultant and operations manager, bringing her unique blend of maritime and commercial law expertise to the role.

Her academic contributions include lecturing Law of the Sea, Marine Law and Policy, Marine Law, and Enforcement of Marine and Coastal Legislation on a contract basis at Nelson Mandela University.

She is a member of the South African Maritime Law Association, Marine Biology Association (UK) and Institute for Coastal and Marine Research (CMR).

Yonela’s expertise bridges the gap between traditional maritime law and emerging technological concerns in ocean governance.