{"id":296299,"date":"2026-04-23T14:37:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/?p=296299"},"modified":"2026-04-23T15:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:00:18","slug":"justice-cecil-somyalo-honoured-for-reshaping-eastern-cape-judiciary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/justice-cecil-somyalo-honoured-for-reshaping-eastern-cape-judiciary\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice Cecil Somyalo honoured for reshaping Eastern Cape judiciary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
From interpreting legal conversations in a rural village for no pay to helping reshape South Africa\u2019s judiciary, Justice Cecil Mpho Somyalo\u2019s life reflects quiet determination, moral clarity and a legacy of historic firsts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nelson Mandela University recently conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws on Justice Somyalo, recognising a legal career spanning more than four decades and his contribution to transforming the country\u2019s justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born in Qumbu in the Eastern Cape, Somyalo\u2019s introduction to law came far from lecture halls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy interest in law began not in a lecture hall, but in a village in the 1950s,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a student, during the school holidays, I would act as an interpreter for a local attorney in my village of Qumbu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was not paid a cent for this, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. There is something about the law, even when encountered informally, that captures the imagination. It speaks to justice, to the dignity of ordinary people navigating extraordinary circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That early exposure sparked a lifelong calling. After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Fort Hare and working as a teacher, he pursued legal studies through the University of South Africa (UNISA), entering a profession that remained largely inaccessible to black South Africans under apartheid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Admitted as an attorney in 1971, he practised law in Gqeberha for more than two decades, serving communities during one of the country\u2019s most turbulent periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
The most valuable attributes of a lawyer are not found in the sophistication of their arguments, but in the unshakeable quality of their character.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
His appointment to the bench in 1995 marked a significant shift in South African legal history. As a judge of the Transkei Division of the High Court, he became the first attorney to be permanently appointed to the bench, challenging long-standing traditions that favoured senior advocates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His rise was swift. In 1997, he became the first black jurist appointed Judge President of the Transkei Division, and two years later, Judge President of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a time when the judiciary was fragmented along apartheid-era lines, Somyalo played a key role in unifying courts across Makhanda, Bhisho and Mthatha, helping lay the foundation for a more integrated judicial system in the province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2001, he served two terms as an acting justice of the Constitutional Court, contributing to the development of constitutional jurisprudence in South Africa\u2019s early democratic years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While his institutional impact is significant, Somyalo\u2019s reflections on integrity and ethics resonated strongly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He recalled an early case that tested his moral compass. After successfully defending a client, the man attempted to settle his legal fees with stolen goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe looked me in the eye and told me he would pay me in full. He disappeared briefly and then returned, holding a fax machine as his form of payment \u2014 a fax machine that he had clearly not purchased legally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNelson Mandela University recently conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws on Justice Cecil Mpho Somyalo. PHOTO: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want you to hold that moment in your minds, for what it taught me. The law brings you into contact with people at their most vulnerable, their most desperate, and their most human. You will be tested \u2014 not just intellectually, but morally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd how you respond in those moments, when no one is watching, when the temptation may be simply to look away \u2014 that is the measure of a lawyer. For the record, I declined the fax machine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Somyalo, integrity remains central to the legal profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIntegrity is not something you apply selectively. It is not a policy you follow when it is convenient and set aside when it is costly. It is a compass. And if you allow it to guide you consistently \u2014 even when it is uncomfortable \u2014 you will never truly lose your way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe most valuable attributes of a lawyer are not found in the sophistication of their arguments, but in the unshakeable quality of their character.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing graduates, he urged them to think beyond geographic and psychological boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThings are different for you \u2014 profoundly, beautifully different. When I was starting out, the boundaries of one\u2019s career were largely the boundaries of one\u2019s geography,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou practised where you lived. Your clients were your neighbours. Your world was, in many ways, your immediate surroundings. That is no longer true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He emphasised the global standing of South African legal education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe legal education you have received\u2026 is world-class. South African legal education is respected globally, and rightly so,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encouraging graduates to be bold, he added: \u201cDo not confine your ambitions to what is familiar or comfortable\u2026 Go anyway. Stand there anyway. And do it with the full confidence that you belong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In awarding the honorary doctorate, the university recognised not only Somyalo\u2019s distinguished career, but his role in advancing judicial transformation, ethical governance and mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wish to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to the University for this extraordinary honour. I will carry it humbly, and I will do my best to remain worthy of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From unpaid interpreter in a rural village to reshaping South Africa’s judiciary\u2014Justice Somyalo’s journey reflects quiet 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Mandela University, recognised Justice Cecil Mpho Somyalo's contribution to transforming the country's justice system. 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