Human rights doctorate conferred on Moseneke

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Pretoria - Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights graduation ceremony on Friday. The event, at which degrees were awarded to students in human rights, commemorated 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela and 70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was also the last graduation ceremony presided over by outgoing vice-chancellor and principal Professor Cheryl de la Rey. The university announced last month that Professor Tawana Kupe has been chosen to succeed De la Rey. Justice Moseneke was awarded the honorary doctorate in recognition of his contribution to the legal profession. He retired in May 2016 after serving for more than 10 years as the deputy chief justice of South Africa. He was a justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa since 2002, and before that a judge of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. According to the Centre for Human Rights, “Justice Moseneke’s contribution to the legal profession has been immense. He attained the highest judicial office, and delivered erudite and courageous judgments. Apart from being a committed campaigner for human rights, he also has emerged as a South African with the highest level of integrity. These characteristics made him an ideal choice to head the recent inquiry into the death of more than 100 patients transferred from Life Esidimeni.”

In 1993, Justice Moseneke was appointed to serve on the technical committee that drafted the 1994 Interim Constitution for a democratic South Africa. In 1994 he was appointed deputy chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, which conducted the first democratic elections in South Africa. He has served on the boards of several community-based and non-governmental organisations, including as chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

Justice Moseneke until recently served as the chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand. He is a recipient of several awards of honour, including the Order of Luthuli in Gold - South Africa’s highest national award.

Justice Moseneke was not only born in Pretoria, but spent much of his professional life in the city.

Professor Frans Viljoen, director of the centre, said: “The University of Pretoria is extremely proud to honour this son of its soil. Justice Moseneke’s life of integrity has been dedicated to the pursuit of human rights. Like few others, he symbolises the ability of the human spirit to overcome great adversity.”

Justice Moseneke had some blunt words for fellow South Africans, saying the country “has become a lawless society in the midst of many excellent laws”. He called on South Africans in government, business, and all of society - to uphold the rule of law.

Five students who completed the centre’s master’s LLM/ MPhil programme in Multidisciplinary Human Rights and nine doctoral students - six of them registered with the Centre for Human Rights - also graduated.

Pretoria News