Advocate Dinkie Dube was born in Meadowlands, Soweto, to teenage parents and was raised by her maternal grandmother. Her family later moved to Mpumalanga, where she completed high school.
Her grandmother, who was a domestic worker, would split her salary with Dube so that she could have some pocket money while at university. The National Student Financial Aid Scheme funded her throughout university.Dube was appointed deputy public protector in 2026. Before her appointment, she served as director general of the Public Service Commission for almost five years, providing strategic leadership and oversight in advancing constitutional governance and integrity in public administration. She has more than 25 years' experience in complaints management, investigations and public sector oversight.
During her career, Dube has held several executive and senior management positions in constitutional oversight, investigative and ombud institutions. Her previous roles include director of the Public Protector Gauteng office, adjudicator general at the Community Schemes Ombud Service, chief of operations at the Military Ombud, and executive manager and acting ombud at the City of Johannesburg Ombud.Dube holds a BA, LLB and LLM in constitutional and human rights law from the University of the Witwatersrand. She also completed a certificate in Mediation Strategies from the Singapore Mediation Centre.
Her career reflects a commitment to constitutional accountability, administrative justice and strengthening public sector governance.