Death of prominent legal academic Christof Heyns

The University of Pretoria (UP) has confirmed that renowned human rights law Professor Christof Heyns died while on a hike on Sunday. He was 62. A News24 report says the cause of his death is not yet known. Heyns served as the director of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa in UP's law faculty. He also served as dean of the faculty for four years. Current dean, Professor Elsabe Schoeman, said Heyns would be ‘sorely missed by all’. Heyns, who was also director of the Centre for Human Rights (CHR), engaged in wide-reaching initiatives on human rights in Africa and internationally. He worked with colleagues and students involved in the Freedom from Violence project based in the Faculty of Law. UP's statement notes that Heyns played an instrumental role in drafting UN guidelines for peaceful assembly last year. Tributes from activists and human rights lobby groups have flooded in. The International Commission of Jurists (Africa) wrote in a Twitter message that its members were ‘saddened by the news of the passing of South African human rights lawyer Prof #ChristofHeyns former UN SR on Extra Judicial Killings and a member of the UN Human Rights Council. This is a huge loss to the human rights community. We were fortunate to have worked closely with Prof Heyns’.

* The CHR created a memorial page on Facebook in his memory which, within hours, contained hundreds of entries from all over the world. A Daily Maverick report says the reactions registered on Facebook, on WhatsApp groups and e-mails speak volumes about how highly Heyns the man, the mentor, the ‘rock star’ and the lawyer was regarded.

Full Daily Maverick report

Full Fin24 report