David Soggot, a famous human rights lawyer from South Africa, has passed on. You can read his obit
HERE.
He was the lawyer who won the case regarding the status of the National Ngwane Liberation Congress back in 1973. The case lead to the King's Proclamation and the suspension of the Independence Constitution, including the 1968 Bill of Rights. He was also declared a 'prohibited immigrant' by King Sobhuza for his troubles.
As I pore over the case law that has just been produced in the latest Supreme Court rulings, I cannot help but ask myself: does a lawyer who pursues a just but ultimately failed cause, share in any of the blame that must accompany the poor law coming out of the judgment? And by extension then, can David share any blame for the suspension of the Independence Constitution in Swaziland? Or is that just woolly-headed?
