Pretoria - The University of Pretoria (UP) has started its year on a high note as former Deputy Chief Justice of the highest court in South Africa Dr Dikgang Moseneke has joined the institutions' Department of Jurisprudence.
Moseneke joined the legal department as of January 1, as an honorary professor and will according to the university's Head of Department of Jurisprudence, Professor Joel Modiri, honour his "extensive and singular contribution to the legal profession, the judiciary and anti-apartheid struggle which culminated in the current constitutional dispensation."
"This appointment will crown an illustrious professional career which he started in 1976 as a legal clerk, opening a black-owned law firm in 1978, becoming an advocate in 1983 and obtaining silk status in 1993,” Modiri added.
Modiri said Moseneke's appointment would enable him to be fully involved in a number of key projects which promised to enhance the academic, intellectual and community engagement profile of the university, cementing its place as a leader in legal education in South Africa and beyond.
Moseneke's journey began when he was arrested, detained and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for participating in anti-apartheid activity when he was just 15 years old.
He served his time on Robben Island during which he studied for his matric as well as a BA in English and political science, as well as a B Iuris degree.
He later completed an LLB through Unisa and began his professional career as an attorney’s clerk at Klagbruns Inc in Tshwane in 1976.
Moseneke was admitted in 1978 and practised for five years as an attorney and partner at the law firm Maluleke, Seriti and Moseneke.
In 1983 he was called to the Bar and practised as an advocate in Johannesburg and Tshwane.
After 10 years, in 1993, he was elevated to the status of senior counsel and served on the technical committee that drafted the interim constitution of 1993.
In 1994 he was appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, whilst accepting an acting appointment to the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court.
He has also served as the Justice of the Constitutional Court in 2001, prior to which he had already been appointed a judge of the high court in Pretoria.
In 2002 he was appointed as a judge in the Constitutional Court and in 2005, Moseneke was appointed Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, a position he retired from in 2016.
Moseneke has amassed numerous accolades and awards throughout his professional career and holds several honorary doctorates including one from Rhodes University, the University of Witwatersand, UP, and one from the University of Cape Town.
Pretoria News