Percy Sonn St Georges Cathedral, Cape Town
2 June 2007
Sandra, Leigh, Hugh Ben and Freddi
Mrs Sonn Senior
All Percy's siblings
Family
Friends
I stand here, on behalf the South African Government, to extend our
sincerest condolences to the family and to pay tribute to a life so rich, which
was taken from us so soon. Percy was a pioneer. Throughout his adult life, he
demonstrated the courage and fortitude to go where none had been before. It was
his willpower and frequently his singleness of purpose that separated Percy
from the rest of us. He never left any doubts about what he sought to achieve
and no part of his agenda was ever hidden from view. He never minced his words,
unflinchingly telling you what was on his mind.
Percy lived every part of his life in the quest for justice, wherever he
found himself as a lawyer, a jurist, an investigator, a sports administrator or
a friend, this quest was tireless. And in that quest, he understood, better
than most that it would not be attained by merely masquerading as Mister Nice
Guy.
As though if writing about the life of Percy Sonn, the Nigerian novelist, Ben
Okri, writes:
Before we can create a new world we must first unearth and destroy the myths
and realities, the lies and propaganda which have been used to oppress,
enslave, incarcerate, gas, torture and starve human beings of this planet.
Facing the lies of history is a basic human responsibility. It is unpleasant to
do, but liberating to accomplish. It liberates all of us. So, let us today,
celebrate our liberation. But, in that celebration, let us reflect on the life
of Percy, one of those rare people who understood history and understood his
own responsibility as an unearther and destroyer of the myths and realities and
the lies and propaganda and he recognised more than any that it was
simultaneously an unpleasant but liberating task. Such have been the
contradictions of Percyâs entire adult life.
The world around Percy was divided into two groups, a small minority whose
comfort zone, frequently built on falsehood and denial who couldn't deal with
his blunt exposures of their superficiality. And, on the other hand, a large
majority like those of us gathered here who loved and respected Percy for his
courage, commitment and refreshing honesty.
One can examine the different parts of his life as I can over the thirty-odd
years that I have known him and you cannot but be struck by the consistency of
the Percy you loved. What you saw, was what you got. My first encounters with
Percy, was after I had heard many stories of Percy the legend. It was in the
mid-seventies when I observed him operating as an attorney in the Woodstock
practice. My observations were from the vantage point of a friend, rather than
as a client. His clients were able to benefit from his fierce loyalty to each
one of them, from his commitment to their cause and from Percy's palpable
desire for justice.
Having had the privilege of watching him in different guises over the years
and reading of the tribute paid to Percy this week by Inzamam ul Haq, which
focused largely on his approach to the recent debacle at Lords, I was convinced
that Inzy and I knew the same Percy and appreciated his quest for justice.
Regardless of his rigours of his day job, there were two big passions to which
he would retreat the one was Sandra and the children and the other was cricket.
There are many others present, far more competent than I to speak about either
of these. Permit me, though, a few brief comments. Sandra and the children were
Percy's first and deep love and his refuge, sometimes from the storms out there
and always for the replenishment of energy. "Bok en die laities" were the
foundation on which Percy built and they were a source of immense pride to him
and everybody who met him knew this. In paying respects and celebrating Percyâs
remarkable life here, I want to express our sincerest appreciation to Sandra,
Leigh, Hugh Ben and Freddi. Because of your sharing and sacrifice, we can
celebrate this liberation together.
On cricket, that remarkable writer LR James teases an enquiry with the
question, "What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?" And Percy's
answer to that question was provided in the depth of his commitment to the
players, their well-being, to the communities that spawned them, to their
dreams and prospects and to the soundest administration of the game.
In this country, it was the work of transformation, "far beyond a boundary."
It is an area that those who opposed transformation, or who proffered schemes
for window-dressing, will be able to write volumes about they would have
encountered the wrath of Advocate Sonn. And in the wider world of cricket, it
was the bridge between different parts of the cricketing nations for justice
and in the interest of the game.
The poet, Pablo Neruda writes, of a man like Percy
Where he lived, everything
a man touched would grow
the hostile stones
hewn by his hands
took shape and form
and one by one took on
the sharp clarity of buildings,
he made bread with his hands,
set the trains running,
the distances bred townships,
other men grew up,
the bees arrives,
and through man's creating and multiplying,
spring wandered into the marketplace
between the doves and the bakeries.
Go well dear comrade, may your dear soul rest in peace.
Thank you very much for the life we will always remember.
Issued by: National Treasury
2 June 2007
Source: National Treasury (http://www.treasury.gov.za)
