September 11, 2006
By Lucille Davie
JUSTICE Dikgang Moseneke, the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa, has been appointed chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.
"I am honoured to have been appointed as chancellor of Wits University and I look forward to contributing to the debate on what is appropriate in the higher education sector in South Africa. It will be a privilege for me to work with and support all stakeholders of the Wits community and the wider higher education sector," he said last week.
Moseneke takes over from Justice Richard Goldstone, who has served two terms of six years each as chancellor.
"It is a great privilege and honour to serve as chancellor of Wits University. In addition, I found it to be a most rewarding and enjoyable experience. I am delighted that Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke has been elected to succeed me as chancellor. I have known and admired Justice Moseneke for many years and can think of no South African better suited for this position," said Goldstone.
"Wits will now be privileged to have as its new chancellor one of South Africa's most eminent judges. I am confident that Justice Moseneke will bring lustre to the chancellorship and I wish him many years of success and enjoyment in that position."
Moseneke was appointed to the Constitutional Court in 2001. He holds several honorary doctorates and is a recipient of numerous awards of honour, performance and excellence. He was involved in the drafting of the interim constitution in 1993, and was appointed deputy chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission in 1994.
The chair of the university council, Justice Edwin Cameron, expressed his delight at the appointment. "As Deputy Chief Justice, Moseneke takes the place of Justice Goldstone in this post, the university is privileged to have one public figure of very high distinction and personal calibre succeeded by another. In the chancellorship, Justice Moseneke will symbolise the University's commitment to intellectual integrity and academic excellence."
Moseneke, born in Pretoria in 1947, was detained and sentenced at the age of 15 to 10 years' imprisonment for anti-apartheid activities. He served his time on Robben Island, where he completed his matric and two degrees through the University of South Africa. He later completed a law degree.
He started his career as an attorney in 1976. In 1983 he was called to the Bar and 10 years later he became senior counsel. In 1986, he was appointed visiting fellow and lecturer at Columbia Law School, University of Columbia, New York. In 1994 he was an acting judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court, as well as judge of the Pretoria High Court. In 2005 he became deputy chief justice.
He is a founder member of the Black Lawyers' Association and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers of South Africa.
Between 1995 and 2001 Moseneke left the Bar and took on a corporate career. He became chairperson of a number of corporates: Telkom, the African Merchant Bank, Metropolitan Life, African Bank Investments, among others.
His community commitments extend from being the deputy chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund to serving as a trustee of the Sowetan Nation Building project.
Moseneke believes that business and government have a key role to play in the development of the higher education sector in South Africa. "They are both very important stakeholders, who should be committed to investing in the sector, for the benefit of all South Africans in the long term."
In his leisure time he enjoys running and playing golf, as well as watching soccer and rugby. He enjoys reading, listening to music and going to the theatre. He is married to Kabo and has three children.
The position of chancellor is a ceremonial and advisory one. The chancellor is a high-level adviser to the vice-chancellor and principal of the university.
"I believe that it is through the education and empowerment of South Africans, that the social ills like poverty and unwellness that plague our nation, will be overcome. It is through our advancement in science and technology, that we will address the skills shortage in our country and bridge the racial, class and cultural gaps that divide our country," said Moseneke.
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