Lesson in SA legal history
Image: Lulamile Feni
Nelson Mandela University is hosting a launch of The Land is Ours: South Africa’s First Black Lawyers and the Birth of Constitutionalism by advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi on Wednesday afternoon.
Prof Nomalanga Mkhize will be in conversation with the author at the Goldfields Auditorium on the North Campus.
The Land is Ours is published by Penguin and covers not only issues of land expropriation and economic transformation but also the lives, ideas and careers of the pioneering black lawyers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Currently a visiting senior research fellow at Wits University, Ngcukaitobi completed his LLB studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown and is often hailed as a model of black excellence in his profession.
He is also well known for his sharp mind in the EFF legal team arguing – successfully – for the state capture report to be released in 2016.
On Twitter EFF leader Julius Malema also contributed to his publicity by noting that a book chain had not had the newly released The Land is Ours on display in February as it wanted to “suppress our progressive stories”.
"Let’s shame them by making it the best seller. We bought 10 copies because we support black excellence," Malema tweeted at the time.
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology, which includes History, the Law Faculty and the chair of Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation are presenting the launch.
Refreshments will be served and the launch will be held between 4 and 6pm. The university is asking for RSVPs to olwethumngonyama@mandela.ac.za or call (041) 504-4083 by the end of today.
