By Lelohonolo Lehana.
During the special ceremony, President of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers Mvuzo Notyesi said, Mokgoro sought to protect the rights of the vulnerable.
“Justice Mokgoro’s legacy goes beyond her legal achievement. It is rooted in her humanity and dedication to upholding the rights and dignity of all individuals. As we gather here today to honour Justice Mokgoro’s memory, let us not only celebrate her remarkable contribution to the legal profession but also reflect on the values she embodied; courage, integrity, and empathy. Let us carry forward her legacy by championing the causes she held dearly and by upholding the principles of justice and human rights.
Notyesi further hailed Justice Mokgoro for championing the improvement and adaptation of the law to address evolving social challenges.
The late retired Justice has been described as a giant of the legal profession dedicated and selfless. Mokgoro was afforded a Special Official Funeral Category 1.
Chief Justice of South Africa Raymond Zondo says, “It is by now well-known that the first eleven Justices of this court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in Makwanyana and that in that matter a number of them wrote individual judgment Justice Mokgoro also wrote a separate judgment in which she expressed her agreement with Justice Chaskalson judgment outlawing the death penalty Justice Mokgoro said and I quote ‘In interpreting the bill of fundamental right and freedoms as an all-inclusive value system of common values South Africa could form a basis upon which to develop a South Africa jurisprudence although South Africans have a history of deep divisions characterized by strife and conflict one shared value and idea that runs like a golden thread cultural lines is the value of ubuntu a notion now coming to be generally articulated in this country”.
The distinguished legal trailblazer was born in Galeshewe, Kimberley, in the Northern Cape.
She completed her Bachelor of Law Degree (B.luris), the Bachelor of Law (LLB) and Masters of Law (LLM) at the University of Bophuthatswana (now known as the North West University) and was appointed as South Africa’s first black female justice of the Constitutional Court in 1994.
She served for 15 years at the apex court.
Mokgoro, during her legal career, taught a number of law courses at universities in South Africa, the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
She was a member of the International Women’s Association (Washington DC), the International Association of Women Judges, the International Federation of Women Lawyers and the South African Women Lawyers Association. In 2006, she was selected as an icon of the history of Women Lawyers in South Africa.