Hon Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) notes with deep sadness the passing of former Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa Justice Pius Langa on Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg;
2) further notes that he had been in hospital for about a month following a long illness;
3) remembers that Justice Langa was among the first judges selected for the Constitutional Court, established in 1994 under the country's first democratic constitution, and was appointed Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa in 2005;
4) further remembers that, before he served in the Constitutional Court, he served the Department of Justice for 17 years, became an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1977 and was appointed to the Bench by former President Nelson Mandela in 1994;
5) recalls that in recognition of his exceptional service in law, constitutional jurisprudence and human rights, on 22 April 2008 the Order of Supreme Counsellor of the Baobab in Gold was bestowed on Justice Langa by former President Thabo Mbeki;
6) believes that South Africa has lost one of its best legal minds, a dedicated human rights jurist and a veteran struggle activist; and
7) conveys its heartfelt condolences to the Langa family, his colleagues and friends on the loss of this pioneer of the judicial system.
Mr Speaker, Deputy President, members of this august Assembly, I am not using the crude vice of name dropping to claim any association closer to the Langa family than others. I had the opportunity to raise some issues of a judicial nature when I had the unenviable task of addressing both the memorial service and the funeral. I am neither hogging the platform nor "having a second bite at the cherry" in paying tribute to this gallant fighter for justice.
Having learned of his passing on, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development immediately got tasked with some of the preparatory work with regard to the memorial service and the funeral that took place in Durban. In doing all this, we were asserting that the grief experienced by his loved ones could not be eliminated, but that it was to honour his impeccable legacy as a true son of the soil.
As the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development our work towards supporting the Langa family was made possible by the President when he formally declared the funeral of the late Chief Justice as a special official funeral. Once again, we would like to thank the hon President for the declaration as it duly recognised the pivotal role played by the late Chief Justice in shaping our early democratic jurisprudence. It was indeed a gesture befitting of a jurist who immensely contributed to our democratic transformation in addition to our jurisprudential maturity.
I feel the accolades will be incomplete if Chief Justice Langa was packaged in a one dimension judicial or legal framework. He was an amazing person on a personal level, and I use myself as an example of those who knew about his side of life and that of some members of his family.
Chief Justice Langa grew up in the apartheid South Africa and his life was shaped by the encounters that he and his generation had to endure at the hands of racial supremacy. He pulled himself through the arduous journey of distance education and climbed from the lowest ranks of the judiciary to the highest. Thirty-five years of an arduous journey from a shirt maker to a court clerk, a messenger and ultimately to a Chief Justice is the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. He was the irrepressible spirit reminiscent of our people's resolve to triumph over apartheid.
Born in 1939 in Bushbuckridge when the clouds of war were gathering in Europe, Chief Justice Langa grew up during the following trying times: the biggest black mineworkers strike of 1946; ascension to power of the apartheid government in 1948; defiant mood of the Defiance Campaign of 1952; Freedom Charter of 1955, women's march to the Union Buildings in 1956, Sharpville Massacre in 1960, Soweto rebellion of 1976 and many other events that shaped his life as a human rights activist and as a lawyer.
It was therefore logical that when the Constitutional Court was established, Justice Langa, together with 10 others, were appointed as the first judges of the new court by President Mandela. He became Deputy President of the Constitutional Court in August 1997 and in November 2001 assumed the position of Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa. He was appointed the country's Chief Justice and head of the Constitutional Court with effect from June 2005 and he retired in October 2009.
Through his contributions, together with other activist lawyers of that time, he was also instrumental in the formation of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers. This association graduated to the National Democratic Lawyers Association, which he served as President from 1988 until 1994. I had the pleasure of being part of this structure as the project co-ordinator in KwaZulu-Natal when I came out of jail in 1990. Justice Langa also served in the structures of the United Democratic Front. I have therefore all the right to refer to him as Comrade Pius.
Justice Langa was amongst those who took the risk, at the instruction of his organisation, to pioneer groundwork requisite to ensure the post-1990 negotiated settlement. It was a sigh of relief that common ground was found and that the South Africa for all was carefully but painstakingly negotiated at the talks about talks, the Groote Schuur and the Pretoria Minutes which paved the way for the first democratic elections. He participated in all these negotiations. He left this world a better place.
Langa himself assisted other states to fine-tune their own constitutions when he sat on the constitutional review commissions in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Tanzania, and when he served as a Commonwealth Envoy for the democratisation of the Fiji Island; playing a pivotal role in the Lesotho elections for the Southern African Development Community, the SADC; as a member of the Police Board on the Transformation of the Police; and in the review of health legislation. The list is endless.
As a chair of the Judicial Service Commission, JSC, he highlighted the issue of transformation of the judiciary to represent the demographics of our country. The current JSC is continuing with this task, even though we know that there are forces that seek to reverse the gains that have been made since the late Chief Justice's time.
Mr Speaker, the late former Chief Justice Langa was not known for fearing unchartered territory. In trying to bring customary law within the fold of our Constitution, he made a ground-breaking judgment in the case of Bhe and Others v Khayelisha Magistrates and others. Citing the flexibility of our judicial system, he sought to bring customary law closer to our Constitution decrying, as he did, that the positive aspects of customary law having been neglected in our law.
As an outstanding member of the ANC in his own right, he could have chosen to turn a blind eye to some of the government offices' own mistakes. However, he chose to speak truth to power, giving his own party and the government the responsibility to uphold the values of the Constitution and leading by example.
I was glad to hear from Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke that the book on Chief Justice Langa's seminal judgments and opinions in matters of law will be off the press early next year.
I wish to issue a challenge to biographers to catalogue such achievements as Pius Langa's as an additional memory for prosperity. I have no issue with the quality of the biographies on our shelves, but it would be literary sacrilege if Pius Langa does not become the most sought-after biography of recent times.
As a country, we should be very proud to have had in our midst a humble giant whose indelible legacy will definitely inspire generations to come. We have the confidence that today Chief Justice Langa has rejoined his equally outstanding wife, Thandekile, in eternal peace.
Mr Speaker and the entire Langa family, the whole justice family, the legal profession and all South Africans, we have lost one of our greatest sons.
Akwehlanga lungehlanga. Hamba kahle Sothole, Sodumase, Madev' agqabul'inkomishi, Nyongo yendlovu, Gubhazi, Mlindeli, Somaphunga! Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[None of us is spared this journey. Rest in peace Sothole, Sodumase, Madev' agqabul'inkomishi, Nyongo yendlovu, Gubhazi, Mlindeli, Somaphunga! (Clan names) Thank you. [Applause.]]
Mr Speaker and hon members, I stand here this afternoon in humble admiration of a mighty man. It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss, almost a month ago, of former Chief Justice Pius Langa. He was not only a great jurist, but one of the founding fathers of our constitutional democracy.
His legacy will always reflect the best of South Africa's golden era at the dawn of our democracy, a time of hope and rebirth. Much like his first name which rings true to his nature, the word pious also means devout, sincere and moral. Words which do not only describe the type of man that he was, but also the association that we as a nation have with the era when men and women like him were the custodians of our constitutional democracy.
Chief Justice Langa was devoted to building a new, free and fair nation. He sincerely wanted to create a just society for all South Africans. It is appropriate that those who worked with him have said that he always stated plainly that "we must do what is right".
Born in 1939, Pius Nkonzo Langa's life was a timeline which represented the best and the worst of South Africa's history. He left school at the age of 14 and went to work in a clothing factory. The apartheid government wanted him to lead a life of incomplete education and work as a manual labourer, but through sheer force of endeavour, Chief Justice Langa continued to study.
He completed matric on his own outside of the walls of a classroom. His passion for upholding justice and his desire to serve the people led him to a career in the law. He gained his degree through correspondence, and in 1977 was admitted as an advocate of the Supreme Court.
He defended activists, trade unions and masterfully fought the apartheid machine from the inside out. When you think of the journey to this point in his life, you realise that Chief Justice Langa possessed the potent combination of supreme intelligence and deep diligence. Augmented by a moral compass that pointed true north, he was a man who single-handedly forced cracks in the apartheid system.
His appointment as one of the first judges to the highest court in the land was a significant achievement and evidence of the accomplishments of his career and his humanity. But, he will be remembered most for his term, first as a judge and later as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.
His contribution to our jurisprudence is something we can be proud of. He remained bound to his lifelong task of standing up for the weak in society, as witnessed in several of his most historical judgments. In the case of The Government of the Republic of South Africa and Others v Grootboom in 2000, he ruled that citizens had the right to shelter from the state.
He was part of the judgment which forced the government to provide treatment to HIV pregnant mothers. He stood up for women's rights, being part of both the Carmichele judgment, which held that the state had a duty to protect women from sexual violence, and the Baloyi judgment, which ruled that the state had a duty to provide effective remedies to domestic violence. Pius Langa spent his life striving for the continual improvement of all his fellow citizens.
Three years ago, he spoke of his retirement as the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. He spoke of taking off his robes and thought of the words of a dying man, "So much to do, so little done." This was a man for whom retirement did not mean his work was done. He did not sit back and think of his triumph over adversity or of the prestige of his achievements. He thought of what must still be done.
Almost all of us in this House today had the honour and privilege of being sworn into office by Chief Justice Langa in 2009. Under his watch, we swore to be faithful to the Republic of South Africa and to obey, respect and uphold the Constitution and all other laws of the Republic. We can only hope that in the almost five years since we took this oath, we have been equal to that pledge.
Lala ngoxolo, Chief Justice Langa. Kumndeni wakho, sithi, akwehlanga lungehlanga. Lalani ngenxeba, nina bakwaLanga. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[Rest in peace, Chief Justice Langa. To your family we are saying, you know that none of us is spared this journey. Be consoled, Langa family. Thank you.]
Mr Speaker, hon members, Chief Justice Pius Langa was to the judiciary what Nelson Mandela was to the executive, a visionary, a passionate and articulate champion of our Constitution. In paying tribute to this extraordinary jurist who is no more, it is befitting that this august House focuses on his call on 9 October 2006, in Stellenbosch, for transformative constitutionalism. No nation can pay a greater tribute to a true servant of the people than to carry forward his or her legacy. Pius certainly deserves this. May that token to have his ideas on transformative constitutionalism live amongst us until it is realised. Mr Pius Langa pointed out that the Constitution should serve as a historic bridge between the pulse of a deeply divided society characterised by strife, conflict, untold suffering, injustice and a future founded on the recognition of human rights, democracy, peaceful coexistence and the development of opportunities for all South Africans, irrespective of colour, race, class, belief or sex.
In his mind, the building of a new society based on substantive equality was the appointed task of all of us in the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Equality, in itself, it is important. However, we are required to achieve substantive equality in order to level the playing fields. Until then, we are more or less stuck where we have been before 1994.
The type of transformation he had in mind entailed a socialist and an economic revolution, and nothing less. Only then would the economic playing fields be levelled. Only then would transformative constitutionalism materialise. The Constitution is our nation's strength. The accord we achieved as diverse people lives in the Constitution. The society we build must therefore have its foundation in the Constitution. Mr Pius Langa understood this as did the courts of the land that he abled.
It is no accident that those whom we hold in the highest esteem in society are indeed those who esteem the Constitution most highly. Mr Pius Langa was such a man. He was a founder member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and served as its president in 1988. We served together in the United Democratic Front. Power did not change him. Power only intensified his desire to give to the society the justice and transformation it yearned for and merited after centuries of injustice.
Mr Pius Langa lived by his principles, and the legacy he leaves behind deserves our ownership. He could speak to any person in our country in his or her own language. The former Constitutional Court Justice, Johann Kriegler, was astonished at his ability. Pius Langa knew how to speak with each of the justices in their own language. Most importantly, he knew how to speak up to them.
He started as a factory worker, became a court interpreter clerk, and rose to become the Chief Justice. In this way, he answered his own aspiration and those of the nation. He fused what he wanted for himself with what the nation also wanted. He had a profound understanding of our society. Perhaps the fact that he had been an interpreter clerk and witnessed daily the suffering of his own people at the hands of the apartheid regime must have exposed him deeply and profoundly to the people that he needed to lead and help take forward.
Today, therefore, we come with one voice to hail his achievements, with one heart to mourn his passing and with one understanding to recognise the inescapable imperative to seek substantive equality to transformative constitutionalism.
To his bereaved children, family, friends and colleagues, we offer our condolences, but also our gratitude for his life's work, his great integrity and his shining example. Hamba kahle [go well] trusted comrade, wise councillor and great spirit. You enriched us, guided us and protected us. May your rewards be commensurate with what you did for us, and may God let your spirit rest in peace. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Speaker, today South Africa remembers one of its most valiant and honourable sons, former Chief Justice Pius Langa. The former Chief Justice was an exemplar of truth, fairness, human rights for all, and a courageous struggle stalwart.
Mr Pius Langa was a self-accomplished and highly acclaimed legislator. He began his legal career as a messenger in the then Department of Justice in 1960 and rose steadily through the legal ranks and finally retired at the pinnacle of law as the Chief Justice of South Africa. He was internationally acclaimed as a legislator and promoter of democracy.
The former Chief Justice is an inspiration to all South Africans. We all owe him a great debt of gratitude. On behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party, I wish to say: Thank you, Pius, for always demonstrating the purest form of a judicial conscience, fearlessly protecting the independence of the judiciary, dauntlessly protecting the values enshrined in our Constitution, and being an outstanding example of a dignified and dedicated jurist.
Hamba kahle qhawe lomzabalazo. Kumndeni wakhe wakwaLanga sithi, akwehlanga lungehlanga. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe] [Rest in peace, comrade. To the Langa family we say, please accept what has happened as fate. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Mr Speaker and hon members, on behalf of the UDM I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and former colleagues of the late Chief Justice Pius Langa who died at the age of 74 on 24 July 2013. I indeed confirm what many speakers who came before me have already said, namely that the death of Chief Justice Pius Langa robbed South Africa of a great legal mind.
Chief Justice Pius Langa played a critical role in helping to establish, stabilise and solidify our constitutional democracy. He was very committed to human rights, equality and justice. He worked very hard to transform our justice system and to ensure its independence. In his tribute to the late Chief Justice Pius Langa, the UDM president Bantu Holomisa said:
His humble beginnings in Bushbuckridge and, at some point working at a factory, should inspire young South Africans to work hard because it is possible to achieve greatness.
Once more, Speaker, I say especially to his family: We are very sorry for your loss. Chief Justice Pius Langa was a great man who will live in our memories forever. May his soul rest in peace! Thank you. [Applause.]
Speaker, agb Adjunkpresident, agb parlementslede, voormalige Hoofregter Pius Langa het 'n lang pad geloop deur sy loopbaan, en ek dink die groot rede vir sy sukses was dat hy nie 'n aanstelling was of iemand wat van bo ingeforseer is in 'n pos nie. Hy het deur die jare homself opgewerk. Dit is so dat hy in 1994 deel was van die eerste groep regters wat aangestel is in die Grondwetlike Hof, en hy het dadelik daar sy stempel afgedruk. In 2005 is hy aangestel as Hoofregter. Op 'n persoonlike vlak het ek die voorreg gehad om vir drie jaar terwyl ek 'n lid was van die Regterlike Dienskommissie - wat nie 'n maklike kommissie is nie; 'n kommissie waar dit soms warm en moeilik raak - onder sy voorsitterskap deel te wees van daardie kommissie en te sien hoe hy op sy bekwame, rustige manier orde handhaaf en die werk gedoen kry.
Vir 17 jaar was hy 'n lid van die Departement van Justisie en Grondwetlike Ontwikkeling waar hy gewerk het voor 1994, waar hy ook sy bydrae gemaak het van die onderste vlak af en hom opgewerk het tot in die hoogste pos in ons regspleging.
Die VF Plus wil graag ons opregte simpatie en meelewing betuig met sy familie, met sy gesin, en met sy naasbestaandes wat ook 'n pa en 'n oupa verloor het. Ons opregte meelewing gaan uit na hulle en na almal wat met hom te doen gehad het en met hom saamgewerk het. Mag u krag vind in hierdie tyd om aan te gaan. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Members of Parliament, former Chief Justice Pius Langa walked a long road through his career and I think the big reason for his success was that he was neither an appointment nor someone who was forced into a post from above. He worked his way up through the years.
It is true that in 1994 he was part of the first group of judges to be appointed to the Constitutional Court, where he immediately made his mark. In 2005 he was appointed as Chief Justice. On a personal level, I had the privilege of spending three years as a member of the Judicial Service Commission - not an easy commission, but one where things can get hot and difficult - under his chairmanship as part of that commission, watching how, in his competent, calm way, he maintained order and got on with the job.
For 17 years he was a member of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, where he was employed before 1994, and where he also made his contribution while working himself up from the lowest level into the highest post in our administration of justice.
The FF Plus would like to convey its heartfelt sympathy and condolences to his family, his relatives and his next of kin, who have also lost a father and grandfather. Our sincere sympathy goes out to them as well as to everyone who had dealings with him and worked with him. May you find the strength at this time to carry on. Thank you.]
Speaker, the ACDP learnt with great sadness of the death of former Chief Justice Pius Langa, and we would like to again convey our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
As other speakers have pointed out, he was one of the first judges appointed to our Constitutional Court after 1994 and was the Chief Justice from 2005 until his retirement in 2009. He played a crucial role in laying the foundations of our young constitutional democracy and continued to promote the independence of the judiciary as one of the main cornerstones of our democracy. During his term in the courts and after his retirement, he worked tirelessly building a nonracist, nonsexist and just society founded on the values of human dignity and equality, as set out in the Constitution and the rule of law.
I had firsthand experience of Chief Justice Langa's vast experience and sharp intellect during the groundbreaking certification case heard over a number of weeks before the Constitutional Court in 1995. I also had many opportunities to interact with him on the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, when we discussed matters of legal concern. He was chiefly often concerned about access to justice. I always found him to be extremely courteous, but also very concerned and firm on those issues which were of concern to him.
He also presided over a very important case involving the ACDP's right to contest the 2006 local government elections in Cape Town. This was an extraordinary case, as the court agreed to sit after hours on an urgent basis and found in our favour, again delivering a very urgent judgment. This showed his commitment and that of those other judges of the Constitutional Court to uphold justice. This judgment is widely used to assist political parties when the Independent Electoral Commission does not allow them to contest elections for administrative reasons.
I joked with him a while later, after that judgment, when he was in Parliament with the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, that I was preparing our next urgent application. He naturedly appreciated that jest and welcomed our further application.
At his funeral in Durban his daughter Phumzile Langa said, "He was a generous man. He loved each and every one of us. We were blessed to have him." She described her father as a private man who loved to dance and sing. "He was the one we ran to since our mother passed away. We felt safe with him. He was the one who loved us." She said she was thankful that God had blessed the family with him.
We in the ACDP are thankful that God blessed us and the nation with such a Chief Justice who leaves a rich legacy as a constitutional jurist for generations to come. Our prayers are with his family and friends during this time of bereavement. May his soul rest in peace! I thank you.
Hon Speaker and hon members, the life of former Chief Justice Langa is surely a life well lived. The generosity that his children speak of does not only relate to his family but relates to all South Africans. His contribution to our justice system gave us so much more than we could ever ask for. He indeed served selflessly with his intellect and knowledge.
The late Chief Justice Langa is the epitome of the truth in the saying, "Some are born great, some achieve greatness." He achieved greatness. He founded the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and that speak volumes on his understanding of democracy and the intricate role that the legal fraternity must play in fully establishing a just democratic society. We shall forever be grateful for his massive contribution to the drafting of the Constitution in which we pride ourselves.
His life story is an inspirational one, worth being told over and over again, especially to our children. The fact that he worked as a factory worker before he went on to study law shows that dreams come true when the dreamer keeps focusing on the bigger picture.
His life testifies that it is possible to reach the highest height of one's potential, even if one started at the bottom. With no doubt, he was a great legal mind and it is inspiring to know that he started as a court interpreter in the legal field and progressed deservedly to head the highest court of our land. May his legacy continue to inspire generations.
The UCDP sends our condolences to his family, the legal fraternity and all South Africans. May his soul rest in peace!
Hon Speaker, the life of Chief Justice Pius Langa taught us that one should live with purpose and add value to make a difference. He dedicated his life to the country at large. Azania lost one of its giants who contributed to the justice system without reservation. His way of living generated two important attributes of leadership, which are courage and humility. Justice Langa contributed to the triple S - he served, he suffered and he sacrificed for our country, Azania. Robala ka khut?o ngwanat?at?i. [Rest in peace, son of the soil]. Let us follow his example. May his soul rest in peace! I thank you.
Hon members, the noise in the House is too high. We are trying to listen to the motion of condolences and not the noise.
Hon Speaker, I found the official funeral service for the late Chief Justice Pius Langa a profound experience, even watching from afar. It most magnificently displayed the fact that a new legal order has been firmly established in less than two decades.
The oratory of two Chief Justices, the former and the present, played no small part in that demonstration. But I think it was the character of our departed Chief Justice that imbued the entire proceedings with a historical dimension. His life story and career path, from clerk and interpreter to Chief Justice, now well recited, is itself the story of the legal transition.
He was Pius by name and pious by nature. His second name was Nkonzo, which means prayerful or pious, as Deputy Chief Justice Moseneke has written. He also brought to his role patience, which is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and humanity, which the concept of ubuntu encapsulates.
It is appropriate that we as the legislative branch should consider his legacy as we continue the work of the legal transition.
Firstly, let us be sure to take forward the work that the former late Chief Judges Langa and Chaskalson did together on an appropriate model for the Office of the Chief Justice and the Independent Administrative Agency for the courts, which the Justice Minister will table in due course. That work will complete the changes we have already legislated in the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment and the Superior Courts Acts.
Secondly, as we work on the Legal Practice Bill, let us remember the indispensable role of the independent advocate who will take politically and socially unpopular cases and who is able to take them precisely because he is independent. Pius Langa was such an advocate through the dark days before the transition and even during the dark hours after the new dawn had broken.
There is a third area of work which we should commemorate and that is the freedom of expression. Chief Judge Langa gave seminal, classic free speech judgments in the Islamic Unity Convention and in De Reuck. He was also instrumental in helping the SA National Editors Forum, Sanef, and Print and Digital Media SA to ward off the prospect of a media appeals tribunal by chairing the Press Freedom Commission, especially created by those bodies.
Typically, he said in his foreword that although the media fulfils a critical role, and I quote:
It does not operate in a vacuum; the manner in which it goes about its work will always be of interest to the greater public. This is so because the media concerns people, it is about people. It is about how their lives are touched. Regulation will accordingly always be of interest, particularly in a democratic constitutional state that espouses the values of human dignity, equality and freedom.
The architecture he proposed for the new press bodies based on coregulation by the public and the press was not, in fact, exactly what they adopted. I don't think he liked that. I think there must have been many occasions over the years when his displeasure or his anger was provoked. It is all the more remarkable therefore that imperturbability sat on him like patience on a monument. But then, patience is among the fruits of the Spirit.
Mrs Beauty Langa predeceased the Chief Justice. We extend our condolences to their children and also to the judge's surviving sibling, Mr Mandla Langa, who was once the chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, Icasa. It cannot be an accident that two gentlemen with such apparently natural grace and self-possession in leadership came from one family. I reiterate what I said to Mandla years ago, not once, but more than once: Thank God for their parents, Mr and Mrs Langa. [Applause.]
Mr Speaker, there are many sorrows in life and indeed one of the greatest sorrows that no one would like to experience is the sorrow of death. It is with great sorrow and sadness that we mourn the death of a truly great world-class impeccable leader born from humble beginnings.
Let me, on behalf of the MF, extend our deepest heartfelt condolences to the family, legal fraternity and the friends of our beloved former Chief Justice Langa, whose death indeed is a great loss to our country. Undoubtedly he leaves behind a legacy amongst all South Africans and the world, infused with honesty, integrity, dignity and above all, hard work.
His in-depth knowledge, indescribable determination and immeasurable commitment ensured that justice was not preferential but delivered to all fairly, including the minority communities, to make our country a better place for all. He was a great role model and a lesson to young people that it is hard work and commitment that take you forward, not shortcuts.
One of his amazing characteristics was that he put his legal expertise to good use to rid this country of institutional racism and apartheid colonialism. He was a good and competent lawyer who made the painful effort to really achieve, and also a great political activist - not only him, but his entire family as well.
His brother, Ben Langa, was assassinated by an agent of the state, so the agent of the state used the ANC people to kill an ANC person. President Jacob Zuma and Oliver Tambo had to go and explain to the family and apologise for the occurrence. How many people or families would have been able to deal with an issue like this, understand what went wrong, what happened, and not deflect themselves from their commitments, for the greater good of the struggle in the country? This shows a very great depth of character, not only of Chief Justice Langa, but of his entire family.
His work, together with other great gians, in crafting the Constitution was quite visionary. The high-quality judgments that he wrote contributed in setting a firm foundation for the studies in Constitutional Courts which are taught by universities and academics all over the world. He upheld the very dignified decorum of the Constitutional Court and, undoubtedly, commanded great respect. Even after he retired he was still involved in the media tribunal of the SA National Editors Forum, advancing our country to greater heights.
I want so say to his family: We pray that in this time of loss, you'll find God's love much more and that you'll find comfort in the presence of the Lord. We pray that God pours upon you his sweet amazing grace and overflow your hearts with peace as you live in his ambience.
Of the former Chief Justice I say: A great soul serves everyone all the time; a great soul never dies. It brings us together again and again. As all Hindus celebrate Raksha Bandhan today, we pray for a bond of love and security. Let us be reminded of Gandhi Gee who once said that there are no goodbyes for us. Wherever Chief Justice Langa is, you will always be in our hearts. May your soul rest in peace! I thank you.
Debate concluded.
Motion agreed to, members standing.
The presiding officers associate themselves with the motion. The condolences of the House will be conveyed to the Langa family.