Freedom fighter, author, lawyer and judge — the many sides of South Africa’s own ‘framer’, Albie Sachs

‘When I was asked by my good friend Sharon Gelman to introduce Albie Sachs to this august assembly, I immediately agreed. I thought: ‘That’s no problem, I know Albie very well and have interacted with him for many years, mainly at National Arts Festival board meetings where he was a beacon of wisdom and integrity. I have read his books — The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter and The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law. It will just take me half an hour to put down a few introductory words.’

“How very wrong I was. I Googled Albie and I felt the way I did after the reading of the obituary at the late Pius Langa’s funeral — absolutely astounded by the extent of his achievements and the level of international recognition that he has garnered worldwide as a jurist of the highest order. Freedom fighter, accomplished author, lawyer and judge, Albie Sachs has a mountain of awards, local and international. The most recent one is from the Clooney Foundation, which will not only bestow Albie with its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Pursuit of Justice, but it will also name the award to highlight brave justice activism across the world, the Albie Awards.

“In November last year, my husband Max and I had the privilege of being present at the Constitutional Court when Albie was awarded the Légion d’Honneur by South Africa’s ambassador to France. In an incredibly elegant, incisive speech, Albie acknowledged France’s democratic traditions that inspired generations of freedom fighters such as himself, but also referenced the darker side of French history — the colonial history, the support of authoritarian regimes and the conduct of French security forces during Algeria’s fight for independence, for which President Emmanuel Macron has apologised. He closed his speech by saying: ‘I’d like you to send a message back to the president, that former justice Albie Sachs says thank you, President Macron. Thank you for the medal, that’s wonderful. But thank you even more for the apology.’

“Albie has even had an asteroid named after him! After bestowing upon him the first Tang Prize on the Rule of Law, Taiwan’s National Central University decided to name an asteroid it had discovered in 2006 as ‘175419 Albiesachs’. It is a testimony to Albie’s humility that this is not a widely known fact. If I had an asteroid named after me, you can be sure that you would all have heard about it!

“Another side of Albie that I could talk about for hours is Albie the connoisseur of art and design. As a Constitutional Court judge, not only did Albie play a crucial role in the dialogue within the court, he was also a moving spirit in designing the logo of the court and the curation of the art collection that is such a striking characteristic of the aesthetic of the building. This love of design is something that drew him to Vanessa September, who after their marriage, qualified as an architect.

“The other side of Albie that we tend to forget is that he is a disabled person, having suffered the loss of his eye and his right arm in an apartheid-orchestrated bomb blast. I admire the dignity, grace and humour with which Albie has handled this disability. I will never forget his recounting of his interview for the position at the Constitutional Court. When asked how much he wanted the job, he said: ‘I would give my right arm for it.’ I would have loved to be in that room at that moment!

“When following debates in the US Congress, especially during the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, we hear constant references to the ‘framers’, the men who crafted the US constitution generations ago. We are fortunate to have here one of our framers, Albie Sachs, who was part of the generation of remarkable jurists who framed the South African Constitution. Who better to talk to us about the threats to our democracy?

“And who else better than Congressman Jamie Raskin, whose powerful and persuasive opening and closing arguments at the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump captured the imagination of so many around the world. I am looking forward to reading his book, Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy. I can see how there could easily be a book on the Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth and the Trials of South African Democracy.

“I am grateful to the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Friends of Ahmed Kathrada for organising this transatlantic conversation. Just as international solidarity was essential to the defeat of apartheid, so is it essential to the safeguarding of our democratic institutions to prevent the unthinkable.

“It was sobering to read on the Sunday Times front page last week the names of those who were killed in last year’s July riots. It is unthinkable that this should happen in the month we celebrate Nelson Mandela’s birth.  It is unthinkable that in a country that fought so fiercely against non-racialism and discrimination, our society is threatened by rising flames of Afrophobic violence.

“In 2019 I had the privilege of working for Crisis Action, an international human rights organisation that works with individuals and organisations from global civil society to protect civilians from armed conflict. The experience convinced me [of a] strong civil society organisation to safeguard our democratic institutions to ensure that the unthinkable does not happen.”

The live virtual conversation about the threats to South Africa’s democracy — themed “lessons from South Africa and the US in these perilous times” — was hosted by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation on Saturday, 16 July. Jamie Raskin, a Democratic member of the house select committee investigating the 6 January assault on the US Capitol, was in conversation with former South African deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas.

The second in a series of conversations on democracies under threat, the main takeaways were:

• Threats, such as the July civil unrest in South Africa and the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol, are serious warning signs of a democracy in crisis; and


• The importance of building a collective, people-powered movement which rallies behind and protects our democracy. It is also important that this movement strengthens our democracy through renewal and change to ensure we are able to fix the social crises threatening our democracy.