Former Constitutional Court Justice Yvonne Mokgoro remembered as a star of the apex court
Justice Yvonne Mokgoro died in hospital on Thursday evening at the age of 73.
Mokgoro withdrew from public life, while she struggled to recover from a car accident a year ago.
Justice Mokgoro was a member of the first Constitutional Court bench, and its first black female judge.
After her retirement from the Bench in 2009, she continued to play important roles in legal and civil society circles.
She chaired the South African Law Reform Commission and served on the benches in both Lesotho and Namibia.
She was a member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport, chaired the United Nations Internal Justice Council and took on the significant responsibility of Chairperson of the International Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law.
In addition to these professional contributions, Justice Mokgoro devoted much time and energy towards nurturing the next generation of lawyers and leaders, both as a board member of the Mandela-Rhodes Trust and through her involvement in teaching around the world.
In 2019 as a retired judge Mokgoro, was appointed as the Chairperson of the Inquiry into the fitness to hold office of then National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) senior prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi.
Former colleague and former Constitutional Court Justice Johann Krigler has described Mokgoro as a star of the Apex court.
"Yvonne Mokgoro was one of the sucesses of the new South Africa, I think that if we go to the elections at the end of the month we can interalia thank Yvonne Mokgoro for the culture of freedom and rule of law that she had established."
Judges Matter spokesperson Mbekezeli Benjamin says Mokgoro was an inspiration to many in the country - particulary female lawyers.
"She devoted a lot of her time in aspiring to younger people to become human rights lawyers as she was inspried by Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe to be a lawyer herself. Justice Mokgoro leaves a huge legacy for South Africa and an excellent example for South Africans to follow."
Mokgoro was the wife of North West Premier Job Mokgoro.
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