Mourning a gentle giant

WE BID a sad farewell to Judge Essa Moosa – a gentle giant who served his community, his people and his country.

During the dark times of apartheid when the regime’s oppression was at its height, Judge Moosa was a shining light to the most down-trodden, a defender of those the apartheid government sought to target.

When the days of democracy dawned, he kept his mantle as a champion of the people, fearlessly campaigning for justice, ever the activist.

Having experienced forced removals from District Six, Judge Moosa became a human rights lawyer, challenging many apartheid laws, including detention without trial, and helped found the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, along with his friend and fellow South African hero, Dullah Omar.

It was perhaps UWC’s dean of law, Professor Bernard Martin, who put it best in the hours after Judge Moosa passed on yesterday.

“A legal mind like Judge Essa Moosa’s comes along once in a generation. And when that mind is married to passionate conviction about human rights and the strength to fight for those who lack the power to fight for themselves, great things become possible.”

Known to never turn anyone away from his door, Judge Moosa would be the first person someone facing human rights violations would turn to.

He practised until 1997 before being appointed as a high court judge a year later. He would serve at the pleasure of the court until 2011.

Judge Moosa will be remembered for his defence of many Struggle heroes, including Nelson Mandela.

When a man can list among his friends Struggle icons like Madiba, Omar, Ahmed Kathrada and others he is a man whose death deserves mourning, but more importantly, has lived a life worth celebrating.

South Africa has lost an icon, as President Jacob Zuma put it in his message of condolence.

We, too, offer our condolences to his bereaved family and wish them strength during this difficult time.

Judge Moosa was a giant ofdemocracy, and he will be sorely missed as a key dissenting voice against inequality and injustice.

The country, and the world, need people like Judge Moosa, who carried the banner for the poor and oppressed, and then later applied his mind when deciding on the fate of those who appeared before him, fully conscious of the burden apartheid still bore on the nation’s children.

We say thank you so much, Judge Moosa, for your invaluable contribution towards humanity. Your courage and conviction will be missed. You’ve served your people. Go well and rest in peace.