Trailblazer and legal icon, retired Justice Yvonne Mokgoro laid to rest

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the late retired Justice of the Constitutional Court, Yvonne Mokgoro, as “a champion of human rights, an outstanding jurist and an icon of gender justice”.

The President was delivering the eulogy at Mogkoro’s Special Official Funeral Category 1 held at the Bryanston Catholic Church in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Mokgoro died earlier this month following an illustrious legal career which included her appointment as South Africa’s first black female justice of the Constitutional Court in 1994 – a position she held for some 15 years.

“We gather here today to lay to rest a great South African, a champion of human rights, an outstanding jurist and an icon of gender justice.

“Through her life and through her work, Imbokodo Justice Yvonne Mokgoro was a pioneer. In so many respects, her legacy is a tribute to resilience, to principled activism and to steadfastness, no matter how great the obstacle or how difficult the climb,” he said.

Mokgoro’s appointment to the Constitutional Court in democratic South Africa was born out of dedication to the legal service over many years.

She was inspired to join the fraternity by Pan Africanist Congress leader, lawyer and anti-apartheid activist, Robert Sobukwe, who represented her following arrest due to her protesting against ill treatment of young black men by the Apartheid era police in the 1970s.

“Reaching that pinnacle was not a simple progression. It did not come easy. It was the culmination of many years of hard work.

“Her appointment to the Constitutional Court was the product of many years of both formal and self-study to better herself and to advance in her chosen profession. It was the fulfilment of a dream in which she never lost faith, even while working in a host of different jobs, as a nursing assistant, a retail salesperson and as a clerk.

“It was a progression from a successful career as a legal academic when she produced ground-breaking research on customary law. This all at a time when our jurisprudence and case law around this subject were still evolving. It was an achievement that followed decades of building a rigorous and demanding career,” President Ramaphosa said.

According to the President, Mokgoro’s life as a black woman and living under apartheid and then democracy is a reflection of the lives of many black women in South Africa.

“The life of Justice Yvonne Mokgoro was the life of untold numbers of black women in this country under apartheid, who bore the triple burden of race, class and gender. She sought to carve a path for herself at a time when the odds were stacked heavily against women, and against black women in particular.

“And yet she went forth with courage, with determination, and with the humility that was her trademark. It is because she understood these struggles so keenly, because she had experienced them first-hand, that Justice Mokgoro was such a passionate and ardent advocate for gender justice,” he said.

Champion for social justice

This, according to the President, triggered the “humanism and commitment to social justice” that she brought to the bench and even after she retired.

This was reflected in her work in South Africa and abroad.

“Between 2016 and 2020, Justice Mokgoro chaired the [United Nations] Internal Justice Council, which is tasked with ensuring independence, professionalism and accountability in the administration of the justice system of the UN.

“In the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in the United States in 2020, which gave birth to the global Black Lives Matter movement, the UN Human Rights Council set up an Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law-Enforcement. Justice Mokgoro was appointed as its first chair.

“As South Africa we are immensely proud that our jurists are held in such high regard internationally on matters of human rights, racial discrimination and gender justice,” President Ramaphosa said.

Turning to Mokgoro’s family, the President said South Africans “we share in your sorrow”.

“May you be comforted by the knowledge that Justice Mokgoro’s life and works continue to inspire and to guide.

“May we all have her courage. May we all have her resilience. May we all, in reflecting on her legacy, be reminded of our duty to help build a South Africa of true equality, of freedom and of human rights,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za