The Langa family,
Excellency President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma,
Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng,
Honourable Members of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures,
Ministers and MECs present here,
Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished guests.
It is with a heavy heart that I stand before you today, representing the Parliament of South Africa to pay tribute to this gentle giant, Pius Nkonzo Langa, our beloved and highly-respected former Chief Justice.
We convey our deepest condolences to you the children, grandchildren and extended Langa family as well as friends and colleagues. Our hearts go out to you and we wish you strength in coping with this sad loss of your brother, father, grandfather and friend.
To the children and grandchildren, I wish to say that we never lose the people we love, even after death. Their love leaves an indelible imprint in our memories and we find comfort in knowing that our lives have been enriched by having shared their love.
Pius loved people irrespective of their status. He was always kind and compassionate. He had a deep sense of justice, fairness and generosity of spirit. In turn he was loved and appreciated by the people of this country.
He was a humble, unassuming man whose mild manner and quiet demeanour belied a brilliant intellectual with a steely resolve to fight injustice at every turn. His legal practice reflected his deep seated convictions to protect the underprivileged against the harshness and injustice of apartheid.
As a fearless opponent of apartheid, his work and commitment posed great risk to his personal life. He was a founding member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers and also a founder member of the Release Mandela Committee and was deeply involved in the structures of the United Democratic Front.
He was truly one of the architects of our democratic dispensation through his involvement in CODESA and later the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum. He was also a member of the African National Congress’ Constitutional Committee who worked on ANC’s draft Bill of Rights and he served in advisory group during the Groote Schuur and Pretoria Minutes.
Many have spoken of Pius’ humble beginnings and when he commenced his working life in 1957 at a shirt factory working his way up in the legal field a prosecutor, a magistrate, an Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa and ultimately the Chief Justice of the highest court in our land.
Throughout this epic journey he remained true to his beliefs and most importantly, he remained a humble servant of our people. His commitment to uplift the poor did not end there. His interpretation and application of the values in our Constitution is one of the greatest gifts he left for our country.
Parliament and our country are indebted to Justice Pius Langa. In our new dispensation, we moved from parliamentary supremacy to a democracy based on the supremacy of the constitution with its inherent checks and balances and the separation of powers.
In one of his judgments he said: “It is a necessary component of the doctrine of separation of powers that courts have a constitutional obligation to ensure that the exercise of power by other branches of government occurs within constitutional bounds.”
Given the complicit role of the judiciary in enforcing harsh apartheid laws, our people lacked faith in the judicial system. It was the calibre of people like Pius Langa that ensured that the law promoted equality and dignity of our people and instilled people’s confidence in our judicial system and ultimately, our democracy.
We speak of his contribution to our own democracy but I am not sure that we fully appreciate that he was a jurist of international stature whose contributions were recognised far beyond our shores. Wherever he went he did us proud. Indeed, he occupies a cherished place in the annals of our history as a Nation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When I returned to Parliament in 2009, it was a great honour for me to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament by Chief Justice Langa to uphold the very Constitution he helped to write and defended so excellently. I was even more humbled when he presided over my election as the Speaker of the National Assembly. I felt similarly privileged to preside over the sitting of Parliament called to honour his contribution to our country and our democracy when we bid him farewell on his retirement from the bench.
In his farewell speech to Parliament he said: “I’m acutely aware that the work I’ve tried to do on the Bench, together with my colleagues, is far from done. … As long as poverty, homelessness, disease and illiteracy ravage our people and are still features of the lives of many who exist side by side with those who are privileged and who have everything before them, our job - yours and mine - will not have been accomplished.”
Pius Langa’s work in cementing the foundations of our constitutional democracy is done. Our greatest tribute to him is to carry his torch and continue the fight to eradicate poverty among our people to ensure that they too realise the benefits of the freedom he worked so tirelessly for.
In honour of his contribution to our constitutional democracy, Parliament has opened a Book of Condolences for Members of Parliament to write their messages of condolence to his family. The National Assembly will provide another opportunity to pay tribute to this icon at our first sitting after the winter recess, on 20 August.
On a more personal note, I feel his loss deeply. Through my close friendship with his siblings Bheki and Mandla, I regarded him as an elder brother by extension. I also came to know him separately through our political interactions during the struggle.
Mention has been made of his mild manner and gentle demeanour but he could also be stern and forbidding and he did not need to say much. He just had to subject you to his stern and forbidding look. I was the subject of that mean look on occasion. NevertheIess, I will always remember him with immense pride, deep affection and fondness
To his children I say your father and grandfather was a remarkable man, who leaves behind a legacy of insight, generous spirit and deep wisdom and love. May his memory guide you always. May his warmth and generosity of spirit remain with you always!
Sithi ke, Boet Pius, you will surely be missed.
Hamba kahle Zwide ka Langa-Sothele-Somaphunga, Ndwandwe-Madevu.
Ngiya Bonga, Ndiya Bulela, I thank you!
