By OBAKENG MAJE
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Northern Cape said the partner of the retired ConCourt Judge, the late Yvonne Mokgoro (73), could face charges of culpable homicide. Mokgoro was horribly injured in a car accident near Warrenton in Northern Cape last year.
This forced her to withdraw from any public engagement to focus on her recovery. However, she passed away recently and her partner, David Mmelesi, who was allegedly the driver during a car crash, was charged for reckless and negligent driving.
Mmelesi is currently out on warning.
The NPA spokesperson in Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane said: “He is criminally charged and facing one count of reckless and negligent driving. There is a possibility of amending his charges to culpable homicide following the death of the judge.
“The accused will be back in the Barkley West Magistrate’s Court on 30 May 2024. Mmelesi briefly appeared on a J175 and is currently on warning.”
Meanwhile, heartfelt condolences continue to pour into Mokgoro’s family. The Republic of South Africa (RSA) president, Cyril Ramaphosa said he is saddened by the passing of Mokgoro.
“On behalf of the government, we offer our deepest condolences to Prof Job Mokgoro and the late Justice’s immediate and extended family, as well as her many associates in the legal fraternity in South Africa and abroad.
“Mokgoro was a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from its inception in 1994 until the end of her 15-year term in 2009. She obtained a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (B Juris) degree at the then University of Bophuthatswana (now North West University) in 1982, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) two years later, and a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in 1987,” he said.
Ramaphosa said she also studied at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States of America, where she obtained a second LLM degree in 1990. He further said throughout her legal career, she taught a number of courses, including Constitutional Law, Human Rights Law Jurisprudence, History of Law, Comparative Law, Criminal Law, Private Law and Customary Law at a number of universities in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the USA and the Netherlands.
“Mokgoro wrote and presented papers, and participated in a myriad national and international conferences, seminars and workshops in South Africa and internationally, mainly in sociological jurisprudence and particularly on human rights, customary law, focusing on the impact of law on society generally, and on women and children specifically.
“In 2015, she was inducted as a Member of the Order of the Baobab in Bronze for her excellent contribution in the field of law and administration of justice in a democratic South Africa,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that Mokgoro’s passing deprives the nation of a formidable intellect and impeccable jurist, who served our democracy at its very inception and through the years that followed.
“As we recall the inauguration of our Founding President, Nelson Mandela 30 years ago on this day, 10 May, we count his appointment of Mokgoro to the Constitutional Court as one of the critical, transformative decisions he exercised in those early days of our liberation.
“As a black female judge, she was a pioneering embodiment of and contributor to the transformation of our country and the legal system and new jurisprudence that enabled this transformation,” said Ramphosa.
TaungDailyNews 