Episodes

  • Judge President Bernard Ngoepe and lessons out of the past

    Judge President Bernard Ngoepe and lessons out of the past
    Jul 20 2023
    Judge Ngoepe was admitted as an attorney on 16 June 1976. He jokingly tells Thuto that his admission sparked the Soweto uprisings.

    Judge Ngoepe also tells us why judges need to be attuned to the cultural and religious beliefs and practices of the parties that appear before them in court.
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    51 mins
  • It's a lot of nonsense that Mandela was a sell-out | Matthews Phosa

    It's a lot of nonsense that Mandela was a sell-out | Matthews Phosa
    Mar 4 2023
    Dr. Matthews Phosa is an entrepreneur, lawyer, and poetry writer.
    In this episode, Dr Phosa talks about his role in the negotiations with apartheid's ruling party that preceded the adoption of the South African Constitution.
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    31 mins
  • Transformation of the judiciary | Judge Mojapelo Part 02

    Transformation of the judiciary | Judge Mojapelo Part 02
    Nov 28 2022
    In this episode, Judge Phineas Mojapelo, the now-retired Deputy Judge President of the High Court, tells Thuto about the first meeting of the Judicial Services Commission in 1994 and the heated discussions held there about the form and nature of a new judiciary in South Africa. He also unpacks the evolution of African indigenous law and its role in a constitutional democracy.
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    54 mins
  • Godfrey Mokgonane Pitje | A doyen of black lawyers

    Godfrey Mokgonane Pitje | A doyen of black lawyers
    Oct 18 2022
    ex-Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke chats to Thuto about the Africanist lawyer Godfrey Pitje who used his legal expertise to keep the liberation fires burning from the 1960s to the 1990s after the liberation movements had been banned in South Africa. He was instrumental in the formation of the Black Lawyers Association and was its first president.
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    26 mins
  • Transformation of the judiciary | Judge Mojapelo Part 01

    Transformation of the judiciary | Judge Mojapelo Part 01
    Sep 14 2022
    In this episode, Judge Phineas Mojapelo, the now-retired Deputy Judge President of the High Court, tells Thuto about the first meeting of the Judicial Services Commission in 1994 and the heated discussions held there about the form and nature of a new judiciary in South Africa. He also unpacks the evolution of African indigenous law and its role in a constitutional democracy.
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    41 mins
  • I met brave black lawyers in South Africa in 1986 | Amanda Cornwall

    I met brave black lawyers in South Africa in 1986 | Amanda Cornwall
    Sep 3 2022
    Amanda Cornwall, an Australian woman, tells us about her work at the Black Lawyers Association in apartheid South Africa and her confrontation with its unjust laws.
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    26 mins
  • Who is advocate Nokwe? | A teacher, a leader of the ANC and lawyer

    Who is advocate Nokwe? | A teacher, a leader of the ANC and lawyer
    Aug 23 2022
    The daughters of the late Advocate Nokwe, Nomvuyo Nokwe and Nosizwe Nokwe, tell Thuto about their father as a family man and lawyer practising law in the 1950's and 1960's, his role in the liberation struggle, and the international respect he commands even after his death.

    They also regale us about his friendship with Advocate George Bizos, the late human rights lawyer.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Desiree Finca | First African woman to be admitted as an attorney in South Africa

    Desiree Finca | First African woman to be admitted as an attorney in South Africa
    Apr 17 2021
    Today Thuto talks to Ms Desiree Finca, a former domestic worker, from the Transkei, who became the first African woman to be admitted as an attorney.

    She joined GM Pitje’s practice as a partner. Shortly thereafter, there was a relative flourish as a number of African practitioners were admitted within the old Transvaal during the 1960s through to mid-1970s. Black Lawyers Association · LexisNexis
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    39 mins