WeeklySA_AdminBar: A black advocate who was barred from the chambers to mingle with his white colleagues
By Monk Nkomo
Described as the embodiment of the high calibre of leadership that defined a critical era in the ANC-led liberation struggle for freedom, he also defied the endless pursuit by the apartheid regime which subjected him to arrests, assaults and banning orders which ultimately forced him to leave his country of birth to live in exile.
This was Philemon Pearce Dumasile Nokwe, the first Black advocate to be admitted to the Johannesburg Society of Advocates but was bizarrely barred – by apartheid laws – from taking chambers with his white colleagues simply because of the colour of his skin. This led to Nokwe devoting himself to the liberation struggle.
Born in in 1927, Nokwe obtained a BSc degree from the University of Fort Hare and a diploma in education which helped him take up a teaching post in Krugersdorp. His political activism led to imprisonment during the 1952 Defiance Campaign against apartheid policies. This also led to him being fired by the then Transvaal Education Department. After participating in the 1953 World Youth Festival and visiting several countries including the then Soviet Union, China and Britain, the apartheid regime imposed a banning and restriction order on him.
Fearless and always determined to fight for the liberation of the Black people, Nokwe was elected the youngest Secretary-General of the ANC in history in 1958, a position which he used to mobilise communities against apartheid. It was during this time that the underground leadership of the ANC directed him to leave the country in 1963.
Nokwe stayed in Zambia together with his wife Vuyiswa, a distinguished activist and Fort Hare graduate who was also a leader of the ANC Women’s League. She organized protests at Fort Hare University against sexist curfews and apartheid policies.
Together with her husband, they stayed in Lusaka, Zambia with their children until tragedy struck on January 12, 1978. Duma Nokwe passed on at the age of 50. His wife returned to South Africa around 1991 and also passed away in October 2008.
Duma Nokwe’s mortal remains were repatriated to South Africa in September last year – together with the remains of 48 of other political activists who died in Zambia and Zimbabwe – following negotiations between South African, Zimbabwean and Zambian authorities.
Both Nokwe and his wife’s remains were scheduled to be reburied at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg tomorrow (Sat) – two days after President Cyril Ramaphosa had honoured the struggle veteran and human rights lawyer with the posthumous conferral of the honorary title of Senior Counsel (Silk).
‘’Laduma libalele’’ – The thunder has returned home, the ANC said in a statement as they prepared to join the people of South Africa, the liberation movement and progressive forces across the continent in solemn reflection to mark the reburial and funeral service of Duma and Vuyiswa Nokwe – two of the country’s most distinguished revolutionaries.
‘’Advocate Duma Nokwe —“Duma”, the thunder on a cloudless day — was the very embodiment of the high calibre of leadership that defined a critical era in the liberation struggle. The first African to be admitted to the Supreme Court of the Transvaal, he was not only a legal pioneer but an intellectual giant, an ANC Youth League National Secretary, and later the youngest Secretary General of the ANC in history.
‘’His brilliance was never paraded, and his leadership was never about acclaim. Duma Nokwe was grounded in the principle that the value of any idea — no matter how sophisticated — lies in whether it resonates with, and advances, the cause of the masses. He believed that the final arbiter of truth was not the individual, but the people.’’
A teacher, organiser and strategist, Duma Nokwe stood in the tradition of Anton Lembede and Oliver Tambo, yet carved his own profound legacy — as a disciplined cadre, a legal tactician and a revolutionary Pan-Africanist. In exile, as the ANC’s Director of International Affairs, Nokwe carried the message of the people to the world, strengthening alliances, confronting imperialism and building the moral force that would eventually defeat apartheid.
His wife, was a woman of intellect, humour and resolve — proof that the struggle for liberation was also borne on the shoulders of countless women who never asked for applause but delivered a generation to freedom.
‘’Together, the Nokwes gave us more than speeches or slogans. They gave us living lessons in integrity, service, and sacrifice. They showed that revolutionary morality is not optional — it is foundational. They reminded us that intellectual rigour and working-class humility are not mutually exclusive — but mutually necessary.’’
The ANC, as they undergo a deep process of renewal and organisational revival, drew from their legacy with both humility and purpose. Through political education, the new membership system and the recommitment to ethical, people-centred leadership, they were working to once again become the movement that produced leaders of their calibre — leaders who asked not what they could gain, but how they could serve.
‘’In their final journey home, we are reminded of the words spoken by Zimbabwean liberation hero, Joshua Nkomo, as he stood over Duma Nokwe’s grave in Lusaka in 1978: “Laduma libalele – the sky thundered though there was no cloud in sight.” The ANC said today, they understood those words even more deeply. That thunder was not only for the passing of a comrade —it was for the unfinished work of his life.
It was the call to them, his successors, to measure themselves against the standard he had set, to recommit to the mission he lived for and to renew the ANC in his image.
‘’Let the thunder echo in our consciousness, our conduct and our commitment’’.
MIRROR Briefs
CWECWE CASE DROPPED
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has announced its decision not to prosecute anyone in the Cwecwe sexual assault case, citing insufficient evidence. The case, initiated in November 2024, involved allegations of sexual assault on a minor girl, with a docket presented to prosecutors in Matiatiele Magistrates’ Court and the case manager at the Thuthuzela Care Centre in the Eastern Cape.
The case attracted widespread attention and national outrage sparked widespread protests in March this year. NPA national spokesperson Advocate Mthunzi Mhanga said following thorough interviews and medical examinations of the child, prosecutors found no conclusive evidence to support a rape or sexual assault charge.
This outcome was communicated to the police, who had submitted the docket, and it was returned to them. “At the time, the DPP’s office did not issue a public statement, citing concerns that it could jeopardise ongoing investigations.” “However, given the public outcry and interest generated since the matter resurfaced in April 2025, the NPA has decided to communicate the decision of the prosecutors in the Eastern Cape Division. We can also indicate that the police have since resubmitted the docket to the DPP’s office for further consideration,” Mhaga said. Lehlohonolo Lehana.
MEYIWA INVESTIGATOR ROBBED
The South African Police Services (SAPS) are investigating those behind the attempted kidnapping and armed robbery of the investigator in the Senzo Meyiwa murder case. The incident apparently happened in Lombardy East, Johannesburg, just after midnight on Thursday, 15 May 2025. He was followed by a group of suspects who forced him to stop while travelling in a State car. The National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola said the investigator was safe and did not sustain any injuries during the incident.
The original docket and copies thereof as well as exhibits linked to this case were safe. As the matter was on trial, the copies of the docket, were made available and disclosed to the defence team as early as 2022, as required by law. Meyiwas was murdered on October 26, 2010 in Vosloorus.
Masemola added that a number of items were taken during the armed robbery which included a State- issued firearm with ammunition, a police reflector jacket, a laptop bag containing a laptop, USB drives as well as photocopies of documentation related to the Meyiwa case
The case is expected to resume on May 19 for further cross-examination of the lead investigating officer in the murder case, Brigadier Bongani Gininda. – Lehlohonolo Lehana
COURT OFFICIALS
SUSPENDED
Three officials from the Pretoria High Court have been placed on precautionary suspension following allegations of fraud and corruption, according to the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ).
“The three officials, who cannot be named at this time, are suspects in an ongoing investigation by the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) looking into fraudulent and corrupt activities in the court.
The OCJ takes a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption and the officials were therefore placed on precautionary suspension to allow investigations to proceed without being compromised,” the OCJ said in a statement.
News of the suspensions come days after Chief Justice, Mandisa Maya, visited the Mthatha High Court following reports that officials were allegedly embroiled in a bribery scheme soliciting payments from advocates to perform tasks already within the ambit of their jobs, including finding files that have seemingly gone missing, transcriptions and allocating dates for trial.
An internal and criminal investigation by the South African Police Service has also been opened in this regard. The OCJ said it had received light on the allegations in December 2024. – SAnews
TRUMP LASHES SA AGAIN
US President Donald Trump for the second time in a week accused South Africa of perpetrating a genocide against White people — without any proof — just days before he is set to receive the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the White House.
“We treat people very well when we see there’s a genocide going on,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One, responding to a question. “So, if it’s a genocide, that’s terrible, and I happen to believe it could very well be. South Africa’s out of control.”
Ramaphosa , who has vehemently denied allegations of genocide against Afrikaners, is scheduled to meet Trump on Wednesday.
The US President’s comments come days after the US welcomed around 50 White Afrikaners as refugees, claiming they were a persecuted minority, a designation Ramaphosa and his government dispute. Trump and his South Africa-born billionaire backer Elon Musk have both repeatedly spread the conspiracy theory that South Africa was orchestrating a genocide against White Afrikaner farmers and seizing their land.
In response to a question this week about prioritizing Afrikaners over refugees fleeing famine and conflict, Trump said, : “It’s a genocide that’s taking place.”- Fullview.
