AS A legal journalist, I know I should be writing about Justice Pius Langa’s many groundbreaking judgments, and about his mammoth contribution to the law and human rights in South Africa. There is indeed much to be written and said on this score. I should talk about how he wrote the first judgment on indirect discrimination in the Walker case, how he set the parameters for later judgments on freedom of expression in the Islamic Unity Convention case, his skill and sensitivity in the Bhe judgment, bringing customary law in line with the constitution.I should talk about how, as chief justice, he took on the hardest, most controversial judgments, such as the Zuma/Thint cases.But right now, I can’t. Justice Langa was a father figure to me and I’m too sad. He gave me my first job — as his clerk in 2001 — and has mentored me since.In his own wordsRead an abridged version of a talk Pius Langa gave in June 2011 on harnessing the constitution in the battle against povertyToday I want to writ...
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