‘Courts are failing people’

Justice Edwin Cameron, who recently retired from the Constitutional Court, remains a force to be reckoned with.

In the ’90s, Nelson Mandela appointed him as a judge – less than three months after South Africa became a democracy.

Cameron saw this as a humbling experience because he was part of the creation of a constitutional democratic state.

“It was humbling [to be appointed by Mandela] because I think as a judge, you see where our constitution and our government and our courts are failing people. It was a very humbling experience,” he said.

A keen cyclist, he was appointed to the Constitutional Court in 2008 by then acting president Kgalema Motlanthe.

In August this year, Cameron stepped down from the apex court on the 25th anniversary of his appointment as a judge.

In his career, he worked as a human rights lawyer during apartheid, defended ANC members and fought for gay and lesbian equality.

But being a judge is hard work, Cameron said.

He said the courts have become busier but being an anti-apartheid lawyer prepared him for the job.

“You look at the law and you say: ‘What is this law achieving? Is it just? Is it having an effect on people’s lives or is it betraying people?’ That is the question you need to ask yourself as a judge.

“There is still enormous injustice, there is racism, there is gender violence, there is homophobia,” he said.

“We are right to be angry and dissatisfied with the constitution and the courts and with the judges – and yet we must not, in our anger and dissatisfaction, disregard what has been achieved.”

– News24 Wire