Legal council backs posthumous silk status for Duma Nokwe

The SA Legal Practice Council (LPC) has welcomed the successful repatriation of Duma Nokwe’s remains from Lusaka, Zambia. In a statement received by Legalbrief, the LPC notes Nokwe became SA’s first black advocate at the Johannesburg Bar in 1956, ushering in a new era that it says inspired generations of black Africans to enter into a profession that was exclusively reserved for whites under the apartheid government. It adds: ‘In recognising Mr Nokwe’s mammoth work of setting in motion the transformation of the legal sector and the development of the Constitution, the LPC recently supported an application by the Duma Nokwe Group of Advocates for conferment of silk status made posthumously on behalf of the late Mr Nokwe. The LPC recognises the invaluable contribution made by Mr Nokwe and other progressive lawyers of their generation. They risked all they had to lay a foundation for the legal sector to be reflective of our society.’

The LPC’s transformation committee was unwavering in supporting the application for the posthumous conferment of silk status, says the statement. LPC executive officer Charity Nzuza added: ‘We did so with the understanding of the integral part he played in the resistance against the apartheid government and for his dedication to ensure our constitutional rights and freedoms that he did not live to enjoy.’ The process is now with the office of the Minister of Justice & Constitutional Development and the LPC says it is hopeful of a favourable outcome. The LPC notes Nokwe obtained his LLB at Wits University in 1956. He was arrested and tried for treason with 155 other people. When the defence counsel withdrew from the case during the State of Emergency, Nokwe acted as defence counsel (with former President Nelson Mandela as attorney) for the accused. The group was acquitted of the treason charges in 1961. Nokwe continued with his political work and was forced into exile.