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Edwin Cameron: Judge, academic giant, human rights activist, cyclist

17 October 2011 - By Deborah Minors

Described in his autobiography by Nelson Mandela as “a true hero of the country”, Justice Edwin Cameron’s heroism is evident as much in his contribution to Wits, his homeland and South ��һ�Թ��� jurisprudence as in his scholarly achievements, for which Wits awarded him an honorary degree in April 2010.

Cameron’s enduring relationship with Wits University did not begin as a student. He is first an alumnus of the University of Stellenbosch where he graduated with an Honours degree in Latin after winning an Anglo American scholarship. His birth in Pretoria on 15 February 1953 and attendance at Pretoria Boys’ High, followed by study in another traditionally conservative place seems contrary to his progressive and liberal persuasions.

In 1975, Cameron went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar to read jurisprudence. That university would later recognise his legal and human rights contribution with an honorary degree in 2011.

Cameron first joined Wits in 1978 as a lecturer in the School of Law during which time he completed an LLB at the University of South Africa, winning the prize for Best Law Student. In 1980 the Wits Law School promoted him to senior lecturer and that year, until 1992, he also served as assistant general secretary (and general secretary since 2003) for the Rhodes Scholarships in southern Africa. 

He obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law and Magister Juris (BCL) from Oxford University in 1981, for which he won the Vinerian Scholarship as Best Graduate. In 1982, Cameron published his celebrated article Legal Chauvinism, Executive-Mindedness and Justice: L C Steyn’s Impact on South ��һ�Թ��� Law, in which he demonstrated how the former chief justice, LC Steyn, manipulated the law to suit the government’s apartheid agenda.

Cameron joined the Wits Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) as a research fellow and advocate in 1986 after two years at the Johannesburg Bar. At CALS Cameron practiced labour and human rights law in defence of ��һ�Թ��� National Congress activists charged with treason. He defended conscientious and religious objectors to conscription, dealt with land tenure issues and forced removals, protected freedom fighters, the ‘Sharpeville Six’ from capital punishment, and fought for gay and lesbian rights.

Before HIV/Aids became the pandemic it is today, he advised the National Union of Mineworkers on the issue as early as 1988, and negotiated the draft of the mining industry’s first Aids agreement with the Chamber of Mines. He co-drafted the HIV/Aids Charter of Rights, co-founded the Aids Consortium (a coalition of Aids NGOs) and founded and directed the Aids Law Project within CALS.

Wits appointed him ad hominem Professor of Law in 1989 in recognition of his internationally renowned academic prowess. He delivered his inaugural lecture in 1992 on Sexual Orientation and the Constitution: A Test Case for Human Rights, and made submissions on behalf of the gay and lesbian community to the negotiators of South Africa’s first democratic constitution; the only constitution that expressly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. This prohibition has ensured equality for gay and lesbian partners and parents.

Appointed senior counsel in 1994, Minister of Justice at the time, Dullah Omar, requested that Cameron chair a commission to investigate an illegal arms transaction; a role for which he was appointed acting judge, becoming a judge later that year.

Post-democratisation Cameron was also a voluntary member of the inaugural ‘post-transformation’ Wits Council established in 1997, and its first Chair from 1998 until his retirement from Council a decade later. Cameron guided the University during this challenging transformation period; his support of the senior executive team and contribution broadly lauded as “magnificent”.

At the request of former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson (BCom 1952, LLB 1954, honorary LLD 1990), Cameron acted in the Constitutional Court in 1999/2000. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2002.

In addition to his demanding roles as judge, human rights and HIV/Aids activist, Cameron is a philanthropist and patron of several children’s organisations, hospices and Aids organizations. He is a celebrated speaker and a prolific writer whose biography, Witness to Aids (2005) includes a foreword by Nelson Mandela. Cameron has made seminal contributions to law journals on human rights, sexual orientation and the legal system.

Perhaps less known is that Cameron is an ardent cyclist and has completed the 110km (±68 miles) Cape Argus Cycle Race six times (2006 – 2011) in impressive time, an achievement of which he is immensely proud as testament to his health and vitality.

The citation for Cameron’s honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Wits reads: “In seeking to honour Edwin Cameron, the University brings honour to itself. This distinguished man has contributed enormously to the University, the judiciary and the country. His work is not yet done, but it is time that we signal our admiration and appreciation of this fine human being”.