Retired ConCourt judge dies
2010-08-26 13:07
Johannesburg – A moment’s silence was held at the Constitutional Court on Thursday in remembrance of retired Judge Tholakele Madala who died on Wednesday.
"Yesterday (Wednesday), at 01:00, one of our own, Justice Madala passed away and I think it is fitting that we all stand up for a moment of silence," said Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo ahead of Thursday’s Waterkloof defamation hearing.
The packed court stood up solemnly for the judge who retired in October 2008.
According to the court’s website, Madala was born in Kokstad on July 13 1937.
He matriculated at St John's College in Mthatha in 1956 and studied at Fort Hare University.
University of Natal
He taught at the Lovedale Institute, in Alice, and in Swaziland before taking up law at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg in 1972.
He helped set up the first legal aid clinic on the Pietermaritzburg campus for the very poor.
His career included a lecturing post at the University of Transkei and in 1982, after practising as an attorney, he was admitted as an advocate and handled many human rights cases.
He and others started the then Umtata Law Clinic and he became the chairperson of the Transkei Attorneys' Association.
From 1987 to 1990 he was the vice-chairperson of the Society of Advocates of Transkei. Between 1991 and 1993 he was the chairperson of the Society of Advocates of Transkei and represented the society on the General Council of the Bar of South Africa.
Constitutional court
Madala went on to become the first black judge in the Eastern Cape and the fourth black judge to be appointed in South Africa and was appointed to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
In 1995 the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) gave him an award in recognition of his human rights work.
He was also a founder member and director of the Prisoners' Welfare Programmes, which helped political detainees and their families.
His other activities included being on the board of trustees of the BLA’s legal education centre.
He was a chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of St John. He retired in 2008 and was replaced by Justice Edwin Cameron.
- SAPA