Honorary doctorate for Pius Langa
- By Wits University
Former Chief Justice Pius Langa was conferred with a posthumous honorary Doctorate of Laws at Wits University鈥檚 Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management graduation ceremony on Thursday, 21 November 2013.
His brother, Mandla Langa, accepted the doctorate on his behalf and delivered an address to the graduands. 鈥淲hen I say 鈥榤y brother鈥, claiming the man who was this country鈥檚 second chief justice and first black person to ascend to that position, I feel somewhat self-conscious. The possessive pronoun sits heavily on my tongue, because even though we were connected by blood, Pius belonged to a very wide constituency,鈥 he said.
Mandla described how, at Pius鈥 funeral, he realised that the man he鈥檇 known for many decades was a mystery to him. He said that as a family, they thought they鈥檇 suffered a loss, but when they saw the outpouring of grief, they realised that they had no idea of the actual size of the loss.
鈥淏ecause we had no instrument with which to get a measure of things, we looked into the eyes of others to act as a rough guide to the extent of our bereavement,鈥 he said.
As an author of fiction, Mandla took the liberty of imagining what his brother might have said to the graduands on the occasion of their celebration. 鈥淥ne of the most important observations which he would have made is that we are living in a very complex time. He would have enjoined young people to read the tea leaves 鈥 to read the news and interpret the news for themselves, especially with some of the developments that have taken place.鈥
Mandla referred to the incident at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this year and said that Pius would have spoken about human rights, and the need for the 第一吃瓜网 continent to safeguard the future of its young people.
He said he would also have spoken about the essentiality of education, especially as we head into a future which is complex, and the scourge of HIV/Aids in Africa, which Pius felt needed all the resources that the continent could muster.
鈥淗e would have spoken about the inequalities in this country, and the fact that we are still the most unequal society. He was especially conscious of the issue of gender and I鈥檓 sure he would have been appalled by some of the recent acts of violence against women and children.
Mandla encouraged the graduands to continue with a sense of mission and to find their own, individual ways of meeting the challenges which beset society. 鈥淒o not be intimidated by the challenge or daunted by the magnitude of what needs to be done. You are the hope of Africa and you will not fail.鈥