Rufaro Mhandu, a Zimbabwean Lawyer will head this year’s “Courtroom Mail 100” selection panel.
Courtroom Mail 100 is an annual list of outstanding female Lawyers of African descent who have made remarkable impact as Super heroes, Heroes, Influencers and Distruptors ( SHID) published by Courtroom Mail every 8th of March to commemorate the International Women’s Day.
The list, Courtroom Mail 100 began in 2021 and in 2022 a selection panel of lawyers drawn from across the continent was introduced to undertake the process.
Rehana Khan Parker,( South Africa) headed the panel in 2022 and 2023 while Maria Mbeneka( Kenya) headed the panel in 2024 and 2025.
Rufaro has been part of the selection process even before the selection panel was officially introduced in 2022.
Rufaro Mhandu is the Managing Partner of R. Mhandu Attorneys with over 15 years’ experience in criminal litigation, out of which she served for almost 8 years as a Prosecutor in the employ of National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe from April 2009 to January 2017. She joined private practice in January 2017 after registering as a legal practitioner with the High Court of Zimbabwe in 2016.
After serving as an Associate for almost 5 years at Muvingi and Mugadza Legal Practitioners in private practice, Rufaro Mhandu established a law firm in December 2021 styled R. Mhandu Attorneys, where she holds the position of Managing Partner to date.
Rufaro specializes in Cyber Law, with focus on data privacy rights. She is a holder of a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and a Master of Laws degree in Cyber Law from the University of Johannesburg. She is also a Certified Data Protection Officer. Whilst it was still a Draft Bill, Rufaro Mhandu was actively involved in the review process of the Cyber and Data Protection Act [Chapter 12:07].
She has appeared as a guest on the Morning Rush aired by ZTN Prime on the 8th of March 2023 in celebration of the International Women’s Day. In recognition of her work in cybersecurity and data protection, she was featured in the Africa Fortune Magazine in the September 2021 Issue. She has also been awarded Cyber Lawyer of the Year 2021 Award by the Institute of Cyber Security Zimbabwe.
She was also featured by Zim Women Roar in April 2022. She was also listed on the Institute for Corporate Directors Zimbabwe – ICDZ 40 Under Forty Most Influential Young Leaders List in Zimbabwe 2022. She was awarded again Cyber Lawyer of the Year 2022 Award by the Institute of Cyber Security Zimbabwe. Most recently she was awarded a Platinum Award as one of the most outstanding inspirational women in Zimbabwe by Zim CEO Network, 2025.
Rufaro Mhandu has worked with various clients in matters involving cybercrime, e-commerce, digital forensic evidence and data privacy rights, as well as copyright and trademark protection within the intellectual property space. She to facilitates trainings of corporate entities and government institutions, and also receives invitations at different symposia, workshops, seminars, conferences and radio talk shows to speak on cybersecurity, cybercrimes and data protection issues.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe has also engaged Rufaro Mhandu to facilitate and assist in trainings on cybersecurity and data protection during continued legal education for lawyers, at the Law Society of Zimbabwe Winterschool 2023, and also through workshops, seminars and webinar series.
She has participated in the selection process of the nominees for the most influential female lawyers in Africa Courtroommail 100 SHID since 2021, and after being the Vice-Chairperson for the selection panel of Courtroommail 100 2025, she is the Chairperson for this year’s selection panel Courtroommail 100 SHID 2026.
Members of the 2026 Panel will be published soonest.
