By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The United States (US) president Donald Trump slammed the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to former International Criminal Court judge Navi Pillay, calling her “a liberal person who works at the United Nations (UN).
The prize was awarded to Pillay on Friday, 09 October 2026.
Born into a family of Indian Tamil origin under apartheid in Durban, South Africa, Pillay became a lawyer and legal pioneer, confronting deep structural discrimination, segregation and exclusion.
Trump has been outspoken about his desire to win the prize, and made similar criticisms in 2025 when it was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Last year, Trump campaigned aggressively, and ultimately unsuccessfully, to obtain the award, which he has long coveted. Earlier this year, the 2025 laureate María Corina Machado gifted her medal to the US president, stunning Norway.
The US president repeated claims that he had settled eight wars and was “about to settle or win two more”, without providing evidence.
“The Nobel Peace Prize has been forever discredited by a handful of radical ideologues who are anti-democracy and really enemies of civilisation,” he said.
Pillay, 85, has “held states and national leaders accountable and brought hope to victims of violence and conflict,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement on Friday, calling her “one of the great defenders of international legal principles.”
Pillay is currently serving as a judge at the International Court of Justice, in The Hague, in the case in which Myanmar stands accused of genocide.
Last year, she chaired the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which investigated Israel’s retaliatory war in Gaza and concluded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration had committed genocide against Palestinians, a finding that the Israeli government firmly denounced.
She has served as a judge in South Africa, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and was UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014.
Her work helped influence the definition of acts that can constitute genocide and crimes against humanity, including rape and sexual violence — and because of it a defendant in Rwanda faced charges of incitement to commit genocide purely on the basis of spreading propaganda.
“A common thread runs from her early work defending Nelson Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases of our time,” the committee said.
A common thread runs from her early work defending Mandela and others who stood up against apartheid to her service as a judge in some of the key international court cases.
President Cyril Ramaphosa meanwhile has congratulated Pillay on being awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote peace and international law.
In a statement on Friday, the President said the recognition was a tribute to Pillay’s courage, integrity and lifelong commitment to justice.
Ramaphosa said the honour underscored the importance of building a society in which everyone could realise their potential and contribute to the country and the world.
“The honour bestowed on her reminds us to build a society where every person, whatever their circumstances, can develop their abilities and contribute fully to our nation and the world.”
“We are proud that Justice Pillay joins Chief Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Mandela and Former President FW de Klerk in highlighting the far-reaching impact of South Africans on peace, justice and the advancement of humanity.”