Who was Chief Justice Pius Langa?
Former Chief Justice Pius Nkonzo Langa passed away on 24 July after he spent a month in the Milpark Hospital.
But who was the man that held the position of Chief Justice for four years and served under two presidents?
Langa was born in Mpumalanga on 25 March 1939. As a teenager he worked at a factory that manufactured T-Shirts. He entered the Department of Justice when he started working as an interpreter. In 1973 Pius obtained his B Juris degree, three years after that he received his Bachelor of Law (LLB). He left behind Johannesburg and moved to Durban in 1977 to practice as an advocate. Former President Nelson Mandela appointed Langa as a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
He was promoted to Deputy Chief Justice in 1997. The following year he was appointed as Chairman of the Langa Commission. The commission investigated allegations of fraud in Lesotho’s general elections. He was appointed as Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu Natal during the same year. He was a co-founder of the Release Mandela Campaign and the Commissioner for Human Rights. The Universities of Cape Town, Zululand and Western Cape awarded Langa with honorary doctorates in law.
After Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson stepped down in 2005, Former President Thabo Mbeki selected Langa to take over the position. He held the position until he retired in 2009, after the death of his wife Thandekile. At a speech at the joint sitting of Parliament where members of the African National Congress bid farewell to Former Chief Justice Langa the Speaker of the National Assembly, Max Sisulu said, “Justice Langa was deeply involved in the process of negotiating the end of apartheid. In a long and distinguished career, it is Justice Langa`s time at the helm of the Constitutional Court that will stand out for years to come. He inherited a vital state institution in a young democracy. He worked to ensure that justice was strengthened through the Constitutional Court.”
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said, “On behalf of the entire judiciary: I take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to his family. We trust that they will be strengthened and comforted during this difficult period.”
He will not only be remembered for the work he has done in the Constitutional Court but he will also be remembered by his six children.
“The country has lost one of its best legal minds, a dedicated Human Rights jurist and a veteran struggle activist. On behalf of government and the people of South Africa, we wish to convey our deepest condolences. May his soul rest in peace,” said President Jacob Zuma.
