Tony Leon’s father Ramon has died

Retired high court judge Ramon Leo Leon died over the weekend, according to his son, Tony Leon.

The news emerged almost incidentally while The Citizen was seeking comment on Leon’s name being mentioned this morning in a press conference called by Sydney Mufamadi.

Leon senior was notorious during his years as a judge in apartheid South Africa, when he was particularly feared as a “hanging judge”.

In 1985, Judge Leon, who served on the Natal Bench, sentenced 19-year-old Andrew Zondo to death for his role in the Amanzimtoti shopping centre blast that killed five people.

He also worked as a legal adviser to the government of Lesotho after his retirement. In 2008, he made headlines after he was attacked by robbers at his home in an upmarket Durban lodge.