Grocott's Mail
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, June 13
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Grocott's Mail
    • NEWS
      • Courts & Crime
      • Features
      • Politics
      • People
      • Health & Well-being
    • SPORT
      • News
      • Results
      • Sports Diary
      • Club Contacts
      • Columns
      • Sport Galleries
      • Sport Videos
    • OPINION
      • Election Connection
      • Makana Voices
      • Deur ‘n Gekleurde Bril
      • Newtown… Old Eyes
      • Incisive View
      • Your Say
    • ARTSLIFE
      • Cue
        • Cue Archives
      • Makana Sharp!
      • Visual Art
      • Literature
      • Food
      • Festivals
      • Community Arts
      • Going Places
    • OUR TOWN
      • What’s on
      • Spiritual
      • Emergency & Well-being
      • Covid-19
      • Safety
      • Civic
      • Municipality
      • Weather
      • Properties
        • Grahamstown Properties
      • Your Town, Our Town
    • OUTSIDE
      • Enviro News
      • Gardening
      • Farming
      • Science
      • Conservation
      • Motoring
      • Pets/Animals
    • ECONOMIX
      • Business News
      • Entrepreneurship
      • Personal Finance
    • EDUCATION
      • Education NEWS
      • Education OUR TOWN
      • Education INFO
    • EDITORIAL
    Grocott's Mail
    You are at:Home»NEWS»The conflict between justice and the law
    NEWS

    The conflict between justice and the law

    Benny MojelaBy Benny MojelaSeptember 14, 2023Updated:September 15, 2023No Comments4 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Advocate Basil Andrew Williams at the Black Power Station discussing law and justice. Photo :Xolile Madinda
    Advocate Basil Andrew Williams at the Black Power Station discussing law and justice. Photo :Xolile Madinda

    By Benny Mojela

    On 12 September 2023, exactly 46 years after Steve Biko was murdered in detention by Apartheid police, The Black Power Station (TBPS) hosted a discussion on freedom, justice, and the new politics of gender and religious equality, unpacking the legacies of injustice and the future, the meaning of Ubuntu, and the conflicts of these concepts within the legal system.

    The discussion was led by Attorney Basil Andrew Williams, a senior legal practitioner in Makhanda who represented over 40 students who were arrested during the Fees Must Fall movement because he believed they were fighting for a good cause. There is a unique tradition that promotes reading and critical thinking at the TBPS. Similar to a church service which is opened with prayer, intellectual discussions at TBPS are commenced with a reading from a book, where the person reading opens the book to a random page and reads to their heart’s content. The reader can do an exposition of what they have read with contributions from the audience.

    LLB Student Leasha Sanyika (left) and Tlotliso Ranthimo (right). Photo: Xolile Madinda
    LLB Student Leasha Sanyika (left) holding the constitution of South Africa and Tlotliso Ranthimo (right) holding the book ‘I Write What I like’ by Steve Biko. Photo: Xolile Madinda

    Tlotliso Ranthimo read from Steve Biko’s “I Write What I like” and he expressed how he thought the title was audacious and he liked it. LLB student Leasha Sanyika read from Section 36 of the Constitution known as the limitation clause. The limitation clause lays down a test that any limitation must meet. The two main concepts in this test are reasonableness and proportionality.  Sanyika spoke on the complex relationship between justice and law.

    ”The definition that was given for justice was about the law and how it’s applied. I found that interesting because when we did jurisprudence we spoke about who defines justice. A murderer can walk away if there is no evidence because everyone deserves a fair trial but what about the family of the person who was murdered – do they get justice?” Sanyika asked.

    Advocate Akhona Sidlai contributing to a discussion on law and justice at The Black Power Station. Photo: Xolile Madinda
    Advocate Akhona Sidlai contributed to a discussion on law and justice at The Black Power Station. Photo: Xolile Madinda

    Advocate Akhona Sidlai defined justice, saying, “Justice is the ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law”. She referred to a poem by Chris Van Wyk titled ‘In Detention’, a satirical work meant to expose the unreasonable behavior of the police in Apartheid South Africa. Sidlai posed a critical question as to whether the law can achieve that philosophical ideal, especially in South Africa where laws still exist that were passed before democracy.

     

    Advocate Basil Andrew Williams at the Black Power Station discussing law and justice. Photo: Xolile Madinda
    Advocate Basil Andrew Williams at the Black Power Station discussing law and justice. Photo: Xolile Madinda

    Advocate Basil Andrew Williams highlighted that the law is meant to bring about justice but in practice, it’s this does not always happen. ”This is why I am passionate about social justice. I believe that apart from Steve Biko there are many other people who were incarcerated during that time who never got justice, baninzi” he said.

    Biko was the 21st person to die in a South African prison within 12 months, and the 46th political detainee to die during interrogation after the Apartheid government introduced the laws that permitted imprisonment without trial in 1963.

    Williams highlighted that three critical historical words are missing from the South African constitution – slavery, racism, and apartheid. Instead, the Constitution vaguely refers to the injustices of the past without acknowledging them.

    According to the CEO of the TBPS, Xolile Madinda, they plan on hosting more discussions around justice, Ubuntu, and the law.

    **CORRECTIONS: Mr Basil Andrew Williams is an attorney and not an advocate, as indicated at the time of publishing this article. 

    Previous ArticleNo bail for Makhanda woman accused of premeditated murder
    Next Article River Rescue in Vukani
    Benny Mojela
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Comments are closed.

    Code of Ethics and Conduct
    GROCOTT’S SUBSCRIPTION
    RMR
    Listen to RMR


    Humans of Makhanda

    Humans of Makhanda

    Weather    |     About     |     Advertise     |     Subscribe     |     Contact     |     Support Grocott’s Mail

    © 2025 Maintained by School of Journalism & Media Studies.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.