Gauteng – On Thursday, 30th May 2019, the Institute of Dispute Resolution in Africa (IDRA) under the College of Law at UNISA, in partnership with the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust (RMST), will host a symposium under the theme:
“Sobukwe & the Law: Challenging Racist Legal Philosophy – Interrogating Afrikan Jurisprudence”
, at the Philadelphia Hall, Solomon Mahlangu Building, UNISA in Pretoria.
On the 13th May 1969 Robert Sobukwe was released from Robben Island and banished to Galeshewe Township in Kimberley. While banished under house arrest Sobukwe started his studies for a law degree and, upon completion of his law degree, he was articled with Howard Nzimande Attorneys. He later established his own law firm, R.M. Sobukwe Attorneys, in Galeshewe in 1975.
As 2019 marks the 56th anniversary of the ‘Sobukwe Clause’ and the formation of the OAU, a day commemorated as Afrikan Liberation Day, the symposium will take a closer look at the legal philosophy in South Africa and the significance of Afrikan jurisprudence in the 21st century.
Details regarding this Afrika Month symposium are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 30th May 2019
Time: 09:30 for 10:00 (All guests to be seated by 09:45)
Venue: Philadelphia Hall 5th Floor, Solomon Mahlangu Building, Vudec Campus, UNISA, Tshwane
The panellists include: Professor Simphiwe Sesanti, Institute for African Renaissance Studies, UNISA; Ras. Thando Sipuye, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust; and Kodisang Bokaba, Department of Jurisprudence, UNISA
“Through this Afrika Month Symposium, we proudly celebrate and honour Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe in recognition of his selfless contribution in the fight against apartheid settler colonialism and institutional racism which persists to date even within our current judicial system and universities in Afrika. Our curriculum is still colonial and needs to be urgently Africanized”
, said the Acting Head of the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Afrika (IDRA), College of Law, UNISA, David Letsoalo.
“Sobukwe realized that the oppression of Afrikan people was legitimized through the law and fiercely challenged the unjust laws of racist South Africa. Although he went on to qualify as a lawyer and opened his legal practice in the township of Galeshewe, very little is known or said about him as a lawyer,
said the Executive Director at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust, Dini Sobukwe.
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES AND INTERVIEWS PLEASE CONTACT:
Mr. Thando Sipuye
Programme Coordinator
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust (RMST)
Tel: 060 454 4949
Email: tsipuye@gmail.com
Mr. Sipho Mantula
Researcher: Institute of Dispute Resolution in Africa (IDRA), University of South Africa
Tel: 012 352 4062/ 079 565 7799
Email: mantusg@unisa.ac.za
