We honor the legacy of Justice Yvonne Mokgoro LLM’90, Hon’09, the first Black woman appointed to South Africa’s bench and an instrumental figure in ending Apartheid.
Justice Yvonne Mokgoro LLM’90, Hon’09, a powerful force in dismantling Apartheid in South Africa, passed away on May 9, 2024. She was 73.
Over the course of 30 years, Justice Mokgoro served at the forefront of the country’s legal transformation. Nelson Mandela named her to the then-newly established 11-member Constitutional Court in 1994, making her the country’s first Black woman appointed to the bench. Empowered to overturn the decisions of elected branches of government that once enforced the laws of Apartheid, the Constitutional Court was charged with defending the country’s constitution and civil liberties and remains a central structure. Justice Mokgoro served on the Court until the end of her 15-year term in 2009.
“Through her instrumental work in the dismantling of Apartheid and exemplary dedication to human rights throughout her career, Justice Mokgoro was a trailblazer who leaves an indelible mark on history and on the legal profession,” said Sophia Z. Lee, Dean and Bernard G. Segal Professor of Law at Penn Carey Law. “Beyond her achievements in the courtroom, Justice Mokgoro’s compassion for people and commitment to justice for the most vulnerable stands as a legacy worth remembering and continuing to strive for. We are honored that she chose to come here to study with us, and the Penn Carey Law community joins me in mourning the loss of a true icon.”
Throughout her career, Justice Mokgoro authored many groundbreaking opinions, including the decision to abolish capital punishment, while participating in countless international and national conferences and workshops focusing on human rights and customary law, particularly the ways in which the law impacts the rights of women, children, and marginalized communities.
As one of three judges in the first group of South African Constitutional Court judges who came from academic backgrounds rather than legal practice, Justice Mokgoro maintained a crucial role in educating future generations of legal professionals.
Prior to her appointment to the Constitutional Court, Justice Mokgoro lectured at the University of Pretoria, where she became the first Black woman academic to serve in the faculty at UP Law. She received the Woman of Year Award in Law from UP’s Centre for Human Rights in 2001 and earned an honorary doctorate from the University in 2008. She also taught several courses in law at universities across South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Netherlands throughout her career.
In 2021, she was appointed as Chair of the United Nations’ Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement, conducting country missions around the world.
“Known as both brilliant, yet unassuming, Justice Mokgoro will leave an extraordinary legacy, one for which her alma mater takes the greatest pride,” said former Penn Carey Law Dean Michael A. Fitts in his introduction to Justice Mokgoro’s 2009 commencement speech at the Law School, in which she also received an honorary doctorate degree of law, Penn Carey Law’s highest honor.
For Justice Mokgoro, the decision to dedicate her life to the law stemmed from a defining experience. After being caught in a blanket street sweep, which were common during Apartheid, she was wrongfully detained, forcefully separated from her infant son, and witnessed violence and torture bestowed upon fellow detainees. Her release was later secured by a Black lawyer who inspired Justice Mokgoro to pursue a legal career.
After earning a highly competitive academic scholarship, she studied at what is now North-West University in South Africa, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1982. Two years later, she obtained an LLB before continuing her studies and earning two Master of Laws degrees, including one from Penn Carey Law.
She made the difficult decision to study full time in Philadelphia, reluctantly separating from her husband and children during a critical point in South Africa’s history.
“Sometimes it is not enough to know the law; you need to have the courage of your convictions,” Justice Mokgoro said during her 2009 commencement speech at the Law School. “You need to have the courage to tread paths that have not been tread before. You will be criticized. You will be undermined. But you must have the courage of your convictions and use the law in the most effective way in order to make a difference.”
During her studies here, Justice Mokgoro’s husband was arrested in South Africa. She made immediate plans to return home, but Nelson Mandela called her and promised to secure her husband’s release, urging her to continue her education for the betterment of South Africa’s long-term future.
After the unbanning of the South African National Congress and her graduation from Penn Carey Law, Justice Mokgoro returned to her country to help lead South Africa’s legal transformation.
“Go out there into the real world and make a difference,” she urged the Class of 2009. “Your presence has to be felt, and until your presence is felt you have not yet joined the tradition.”
Watch Justice Mokgoro’s 2009 Penn Carey Law Commencement speech.