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IOL News
04-07-2025
- IOL News
A Judge for our times
Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial, a book written by Vuyo Mthethwa, the former Judge President's daughter. Image: Supplied Forging a successful career in law is rarely easy, but for a black lawyer during the decades of apartheid, the obstacles that needed to be overcome were daunting. One who mounted each of those obstacles and found success that he could not have contemplated in the 1960s, was Vuka Tshabalala. One of his daughters, Vuyo Mthethwa, has recently published a book on his legal journey, Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial. His career is written from her perspective based on stories she has heard from him as well as some of his colleagues. Tshabalala was born in 1937 in Orlando East, Johannesburg but when he was two, his family moved to Clermont in Durban. After his father, an inveterate gambler, died five years later, it was left to Tshabalala's mother, an extraordinary woman in her own right, to find the means to provide for her young family. He attended various schools including Loram Secondary School in Durban and St Francis College, Mariannhill where he matriculated. Vuka Tshabalala (centre) after his graduation with a BA degree from Fort Hare University, 1960. Image: Supplied Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ While studying for a BA Degree at Fort Hare University, his mother died of cervical cancer. Despite this loss, he graduated in 1959 and was given special permission to read for a LLB degree at the white University of Natal at both its Durban and Pietermaritzburg campuses. Financial support was provided by a member of the Baumann family from Bakers (Pty) Ltd. The young family in 1968. L —R : Ayanda, Vuka Tshabalala holding Vuyo (the author), Pearl holding Dudu, and Sakhiwo. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial After graduating, Tshabalala served three years of clerkship with a law firm, but his real goal was to be an advocate. As a black man, he was breaking new ground. He needed to complete a pupillage under a practicing advocate. Philip Meskin accepted this role, but the Bar Council declined the application, citing the Group Areas Act. One of the reasons put forward by the council was that white people would be uncomfortable having an African sitting in on a consultation. Even if a pupillage was accepted, Tshabalala would have to leave Meskin's chambers when he was consulting with his white clients, which would have been most of the time, His only option was to learn on the job. In 1969, he became the first black advocate at the Natal Bar. From his earliest days, he had first hand experience of the injustices legislated by law. In one case, his clients had been charged under the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 which precluded gatherings of twelve or more people. In his usual disarming manner, Tshabalala argued that a group of people standing meters apart did not constitute a gathering but were simply individuals standing in a line. The judge had little choice but to accept this defence. When he had to travel to represent clients, accommodation was a problem as the hotel facilities were' Whites only'. On one occasion, the only option might have been a prison cell but for a police sergeant who invited Tshabalala to stay at his home. As more black advocates were admitted to the Natal Bar in the 1970's, so their influence and example grew. In 1978, a group of them managed to acquire chambers on the seventh floor of Salmon Grove Chambers in Smith Street (today Anton Lembede Street). They were known as the Group 7 Advocates. Before 1994, no black advocate had been appointed as a judge. With the transformation of the Judiciary, members form the Group 7 advocates were to produce an extraordinary number of judges: two Chief Justices (Pius Langa and Sandile Ngcobo), two Judge presidents of the KwaZulu- Natal Division (Tshabalala and A.N, Jappie)as well as judges Gyanda, Balton, Sishi, Poswa and Ndlovu among others. In 2012, Judge President Vuka Tshabalala was appointed Chancellor of the Durban University of Technology (DUT). He is with Dr Richard Maponya (centre) and Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi (right) in 2015. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Tshabalala's rise to the Judge Presidency came on the back of a very public controversy. He had been a judge at the Ciskei Supreme Court since 1995 when an opening arose on the Natal bench for the position of Deputy Judge President in 1998. This nomination was opposed by 14 of the 19 judges on the Natal Bench. Ironically Thsabalala himself was initially reluctant as he endured some harsh experiences as an advocate in Natal. Those who backed him included the National Association of Democratic the Judge president of the Eastern Cap, Bobby Pickard, who wrote to the Chief Justice, Ismail Mohamed, outlining Tshabalala's administrative and juristic abilities. Two Judge Presidents at the Oyster Box in 2010. Bobby Pickard (Eastern Cape), who recognised Vuka Tshabalala's qualities early on, catching up. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Although he was junior to the other nominees for the position, this was only because it was impossible for a black man to have had the opportunity to be a judge prior 1994. Some of those 14 objectors who believed he would not command the respect of more senior judges, soon regretted their objections. Tshabalala was appointed Deputy Judge President in 1998. The following year, the intimidating Judge President, Allan Howard, opted for early retirement enabling Tshabalala to succeed him in 2000. Judge President Vuka Tshabalala in his chambers at the Durban High Court, 2000. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial His 10 year period as JP was marked by collegiality and socialisation among the judges. He brought a human face to the Bench and was considerate and respectful of others. In return, he won the respect of colleagues and was generally popular with members of the profession. In hindsight, Tshabalala was the right judge to ease the Natal Bench along the path of transformation. The current Judge President of the KZN Bench, Thoba Poyo - Dlwati with Vuka Tshabalala at a lunch in December 2024. Image: Vuka Tshabalala: On Trial Vuyo Mthethwa has ably outlined her father's career, but on occasion one wants more. How people responded to Tshabalala is documented, but what did he think of them? No doubt he is too discreet to let slip such opinions, but seeking that balance would have been an asset. What was the working relationship between Allan Howard, JP and Tshabalala as his deputy? In retirement, did Howard (who died as recently as November 2024 aged 94) ameliorate his opinion of his successor? Some of the case law could have been explained more clearly, particularly Magiba vs Minister of Police, and there are unnecessary proof reading errors. Behind Tshabalala's jovial demeanour and infectious sense of humour lies, one suspects, a man of grit, determination and confidence. Writing a biography of a parent whom one deeply admires creates boundaries of it's own, but within those confirms, Vuyo Mthethwa has ensured that her father's trail- blazing career is preserved. Others can, and will, draw inspiration from his legacy. SUNDAY TRIBUNE
Mail & Guardian
21-05-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Fort Hare University: Lies and xenophobia distract from the jobs crisis
Fort Hare University, along with the Centre University of Technology, Free State, has been subjected to xenophobia accusations spread on social media. Photo: Supplied In the digital age, disinformation spreads faster than truth and when it cloaks itself in nationalism, the results can be toxic. In recent weeks, South Africa has witnessed a troubling convergence of events stoking xenophobic sentiment in the higher education sector. While MPs raised questions about the appointment of a foreign national to a senior position at the Though the two incidents are distinct, their timing has fed into a broader, dangerous narrative that scapegoats foreign academics for the structural failings of South Africa's labour market. This past week, a fabricated list naming supposed 'foreigners' in senior posts at the University of Fort Hare sparked xenophobic outrage online. Despite the university's The jobs crisis: Neoliberalism's legacy since 1996 To understand the current scapegoating of migrants, we must return to the government's 1996 shift to neoliberal economic policy through the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (Gear) strategy. Marketed as a plan to stabilise the economy and attract investment, Gear 1996 effectively abandoned the Reconstruction and Development Programme's (RDP) redistributive ambitions. In practice, Gear slashed public sector employment growth, reduced state intervention in the economy and privatised key assets contributing significantly to the collapse of local industries and job losses. The consequences are plain today. South Africa's unemployment rate as of 2025 sits at about 32.1%, if we go with the narrow official unemployment rate, which looks at people actively looking for work and are available to work. The expanded broad unemployment rate, which includes discouraged job seekers, sits at about 41.1%. The broad unemployment rate reflects the realities of South Africa today. That almost half of South Africans who are able to work, want to work and those who have given up on the hopes of finding work are unemployed. These are not the outcomes of an invasion of foreign workers, they are the legacy of a political class that outsourced development to the market and walked away from industrial planning and job creation. Yet instead of interrogating this economic betrayal, opportunists both in parliament and online have opted for the easier path: scapegoating. Contrary to the narrative that foreigners are 'stealing jobs', the data tells a very different story. According to Statistics South Africa and international estimates, foreign nationals make up only about Even among those in the formal economy, international employees are not the driving force behind job losses. In the higher education sector, where qualifications and global collaboration are critical, foreign nationals are often recruited specifically for their niche skills and research expertise. The University of Fort Hare, for example, reported that In 2024, it initiated a comprehensive organisational redesign to strengthen their academic mission. A total of 87 priority academic positions were identified and advertised, and 37 appointment letters were issued, all to South African scholars. For 2025, a further 59 posts were identified and are either currently being filled or advertised. Once filled, the institution said this would bring them closer to a 15% target of international academic staff and 85 South African nationals in line with best practices of establishments of higher education in emerging markets. To claim that this small demographic is blocking South Africans from employment is to confuse anecdote with analysis, and ideology with evidence. A manufactured moral panic What makes the xenophobic attack on Fort Hare so egregious is its complete detachment from institutional reality. The viral list circulated online contained names of people who no longer work at the university, never worked there or had already retired years ago. The university's official response debunked the list entirely, pointing out that its hiring policies follow South African labour law to the letter. Furthermore, the idea that universities are circumventing immigration law or encouraging 'illegal' migration is absurd. Universities are not immigration authorities and must abide by department of home affairs regulations when hiring foreign nationals. Yet this disinformation campaign gained traction, not because it was credible, but because it tapped into an existing undercurrent of resentment and nationalism, fuelled by real economic pain. Populist politicians and influencers exploit this pain not instead of healing it, they weaponise it offering a moral panic as a substitute for a political programme. But the higher education sector is not the enemy. Universities have suffered from austerity, budget cuts and declining public investment. It was at the beginning of the year when the same social media platforms showed the difference between the number of students with bachelor passes from their matric who applied to universities versus the number of applicants the universities across South Africa could actually accept given space constraints. There is a desperate need for the state to invest in more higher education institutions. They are being asked to do more with less: produce world-class research, grow student numbers and maintain international standards, all while salaries are frozen and staff are overburdened. Under such constraints, foreign scholars often take on work that locals avoid because of underpay, relocation or administrative burdens. Moreover, South African academics are increasingly leaving the country for better opportunities abroad particularly in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Thus, demonising those who stay, or who arrive to contribute to our institutions, is self-defeating and irrational. Solutions: Economic reconstruction, not ethnic blame What we're witnessing is not new. South Africa has a long and violent history of xenophobic scapegoating, from the 2008 riots to the more recent Operation Dudula campaign. What is new is the growing complicity of political elites in fuelling these flames under the guise of 'patriotism' or 'transformation'. This is dangerous. It erodes social cohesion, distracts from the real issues and weakens the working class by dividing it. It also undermines South Africa's standing as a regional leader and progressive democracy. A country that attacks migrants for political gain cannot credibly claim to stand for Pan-Africanism, solidarity or justice. Blaming foreign nationals is not only analytically false it is morally bankrupt. If MPs and social commentators are truly concerned about unemployment, there are better ways to do so. Why isn't there a dedicated parliament committee investigating the Gear promise of 1996, where are the jobs the state is meant to be producing, the state being the biggest employer in the country, biggest landowner in the country? South Africa must reimagine a developmental path that focuses on: public-led job creation through expanded infrastructure, social services and industrial policy. As we speak right now a part of the country is obsessed with the effect of artificial intelligence technologies, and the rush into the fourth industrial revolution, yet the other part of the country is experiencing deindustrialisation, which causes unemployment, and incomplete phases of past industrial revolutions specifically the second and third industrial revolution. Job creation under such economic conditions will not be an easy task even if South Africa only had well wishing politicians. There is a growing need for support for informal workers and small traders, both migrants and locals working side by side. A need for investments in skills training, technical education and green economy industries; worker protections that promote decent work for all, regardless of origin; and a regional migration policy that treats migrants as contributors, not criminals. It is also time to revisit and critique the neoliberal consensus itself. Gear and its successors have failed to produce growth with equity. This was inevitable. New thinking must emerge that places redistribution, democratic planning and solidarity at the centre of economic policy. This is not naive idealism; it is the only path left if we are to avoid further instability, resentment and reaction. South Africa's jobs crisis is not a foreign problem, it is a domestic failure. It is the result of policy decisions that privileged capital over people, profits over livelihoods and market logic over justice. The enemies of progress right now are disinformation, austerity and the political cowardice that refuses to name the real culprits: decades of failed economic policy, elite enrichment and state neglect. Leroy Maisiri is a researcher and educator focused on labour, social movements and emancipatory politics in Southern Africa, with teaching and publishing experience in industrial economic sociology.
eNCA
05-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Anti-corruption conference opens in Cape Town
CAPE TOWN - The 15th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa has opened in Cape Town. READ: Fort Hare University fraud and corruption trial resumes It brings together officials from across the continent and aims to strengthen cooperation between governments and non-state entities to prevent and fight corruption. Special Investigating Unit spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago discussed this with eNCA.
