Former judge of the Constitutional Court Yvonne Mokgoro dies

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s first black female judge, former Constitutional Court judge Yvonne Mokgoro, has died.

Mokgoro, who was appointed to the position by the country’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, served from the inception of the Constitutional Court in 1994 until the end of her term in 2009.

In April last year, Mokgoro was involved in a car accident, suffered serious injuries and was eventually hospitalized.

Born in the Kimberley township of Galeshewe, Mokgoro had an LLB and two master’s degrees in law.

Following her tenure as a ConCourt judge, she served as chair of an independent panel of experts investigating the circumstances of a stampede at the University of Johannesburg during the institution’s 2012 registration period.

Most recently, in 2022, he received the George Bizos Human Rights Award.

He also took the moment to thank his family for their unconditional support during his tenure.