Minister pushes for African language in LLB

Students enrolling to study law could soon have to take an African language as a compulsory subject, if the Minister of Justice can convince universities. The controversial Traditional Courts Bill could also be back on the cards after the ANC called for its immediate reinstatement in Parliament yesterday, notes a report in The Herald. Minister Michael Masutha announced plans to investigate the legislative framework to promote the use of indigenous languages in court proceedings. He said universities would continue to be urged to include an indigenous language as part of the LLB curriculum. ANC MP Mathole Motshekga said the dominance of Roman-Dutch law and English in the South African justice system needed to come to an end. ‘We need to rid the legal system of all colonial vestiges.’ He said there were people who claimed to be dispensing justice when they could not even speak one African language. ‘Traditional languages must be made part of the LLB curriculum,’ he said. He also urged the immediate reintroduction of the Traditional Courts Bill.