The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized (GI-TOC) is deeply saddened to announce the sudden death of Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane, senior expert, in a car accident in Johannesburg, South Africa, on the morning of Saturday, 12 April. A leading and well-respected policing and conflict specialist, Jenni worked on policing and crime matters within the South African government and civil society for three decades.
In her work at the GI-TOC, Jenni was a highly respected researcher on issues spanning organized crime, corruption and governance. Her expertise and studies encompassed a range of critical challenges, including organized crime-related assassination, extortion, illegal firearms, gang violence, and mafia-style criminal networks.
‘I am profoundly shocked by the news of Jenni’s death,’ said Mark Shaw, Director of the GI-TOC. ‘I have known Jenni for more than two decades. She was a woman of courage, principle and humour, who has made a massive contribution to the Global Initiative and criminal justice in South Africa.’
Before joining the GI-TOC, Jenni was involved during the 1980s in running the Network of Independent Monitors in violence-afflicted KwaZulu-Natal. After South Africa’s transition to democracy, she later led the Civilian Secretariat for Police from 2009 to 2014. ‘Jenni was intensely committed,’ said Peter Gastrow, Chair of the GI-TOC’s Africa Board. ‘She pursued her work into organized crime with vigour and integrity. Years ago, she played a significant role in the struggle for the liberation of all South Africans and committed her life to make democracy work, particularly in the fields of security and policing.’ At the time of her death, she was advising the South African government on developing a national strategy against organized crime.
Jenni’s death leaves an immense void in the GI-TOC‘s East and Southern Africa Observatory, where she played a vital policy and research role, and it is a devastating loss to the broader community seeking to tackle organized crime in the region. ‘Jenni’s sudden death is hard to comprehend,’ said Julian Rademeyer, Director of the observatory. ‘She was such a vital, spirited and extraordinary part of our team. Jenni’s work was underpinned by a deep sense of compassion. She loved her country and its people in the purest way.’
Jenni’s knowledge, insights, depth of experience and generosity to colleagues and friends will be missed enormously. Her compassion, and her work championing the most vulnerable in South African society, extended to animals, too, as evident in her love for her three rescue dogs and three rescue horses, many of them survivors of abuse.
Jenni is survived by her sister, Sue Clarke, and brother, Tony Irish.
