ANC SALUTES DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE DIKGANG MOSENEKE ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT

20 May 2016

The African National Congress salutes the Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) of the Republic of South Africa, Dikgang Moseneke on his retirement today, 20 May 2016. There are few judges who have left such an indelible imprint in the history of South Africa.

From a young age, DCJ Moseneke has carried the collective aspirations of the people of his country through his relentless and selfless struggle for the liberation of the South African people which saw him incarcerated at Robben Island at the very tender age of 15 years; making him the youngest prisoner of the heartless apartheid regime. 

The regime believed that by jailing Moseneke they would kill his unshakeable spirit, instead, he had the courage of his convictions and studied law to become one of the most prominent jurists of the country, shaping the jurisprudence of our young democracy.

A fine jurist, DCJ Moseneke understood the power of law as an instrument of social engineering. He leaves the Constitutional Court much richer than he found it. This commitment to constitutionalism is a story that is yet to be told - given its magnitude. The ANC joins many in our country in bidding a fitting farewell to this judicial icon and untiring servant of the people.

From being an attorney’s clerk at Klagbruns Inc in Pretoria in 1976, Moseneke was called to the Bar in 1983 and practiced as an advocate in Johannesburg and Pretoria. He served on the technical committee that drafted the Interim Constitution of the Republic in 1993. 

It was due to his outstanding and commendable work as the Deputy Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, together with the collective he worked with in 1994, that South Africa conducted and delivered the first free and fair democratic elections in South Africa. 

Because of his legal credentials it came as no surprise when he was appointed an executor of the estate of the late icon of our struggle and father of the nation, Isithwalandwe/Seaparankoe Comrade President Nelson Mandela together with Advocate George Bizos and Eastern Cape Judge President Themba Sangoni. 

The ANC has full confidence that DCJ Moseneke is not lost to the legal fraternity nor South Africa in general. His meaningful contribution, even in his retirement, will continue to inspire generations of aspirant jurists.

Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC national spokesperson, 20 May 2016