Paul Mpande Ngobeni was born in Lydenburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa on 1 September 1960. He went to the United States on a scholarship in 1982 graduated with a BA (magna cum laude) from Hamilton College, New York and Doctor of Jurisprudence (Juris Doctor, or JD, approximately equivalent to LLB) degree from New York University School of Law. He is currently employed as a special advisor to the South African Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs.