“W
e, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past; Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land; Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.” — Preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 I. “I think my journey towards choosing to study law started in my history class at secondary school,” says Chief Justice Zondo, speaking to Public Sector Leaders. “... and during those years, one studied about the French Revolution. One studied about the struggles of various people in different parts of the world. And I found that, very often, the prominent leaders in various struggles - where people struggled for freedom were lawyers.” Victoria Mxenge. Nelson Mandela. Priscilla Jana. Joe Slovo. Oliver Tambo. Felicia Kentridge. George Bizos. The list goes on. Before law, he had thoughts of becoming a teacher or a priest, and had attended a Roman Catholic boarding school, St Mary’s Seminary. “But once I had settled my mind on law, I never looked back.” The Chief Justice was raised in Ixopo. One of nine children, his mother lost her job just a couple of years before he matriculated. When the opportunity came for him to go to university, he was faced with the challenge of his family being left to struggle without him. Suleman “Solly” Bux, a local entrepreneur, was kind enough to provide him with a loan and allow the Chief Justice’s mother to come into his store once a month, for the duration of his studies, in order to choose groceries. Initially it had been a loan, but once he had completed his undergraduate studies, Suleman Bux asked for nothing in return, other than to pay it forward to those in need. The two would be reunited years later, for the Zondo and Bux Educational Trust, to do exactly that. Chief Justice Zondo went on to complete multiple degrees: B. luris; LLB; LLM in labour law; LLM in commercial law and an LLM in patent law.
