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The Mandela Brief: Sydney Kentridge and the Trials of Apartheid
'A forensic, riveting account of a wondrous and principled advocate' Philippe Sands
'Well-written, deeply researched and wholly gripping' The Spectator
'Meticulously researched' The Times
'Kentridge is one of many lawyers to whom I will forever be in debt, and whose everyday fights against injustice should inspire us all' David Lammy
Sydney Kentridge carved out a reputation as South Africa's most prominent anti-apartheid advocate - his story is entwined with the country's emergence from racial injustice and oppression. He is the only advocate to have acted for three winners of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Chief Albert Lutuli. Already world-famous for his landmark cases including the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and the other leading members of the ANC, the inquiry into the Sharpeville massacre, and the inquest into the death of Steve Biko, he then became England's premier advocate.
Through the great set-pieces of the legal struggle against apartheid - cases which made the headlines not just in South Africa, but across the world - this biography is a portrait of enduring moral stature.
'Well-written, deeply researched and wholly gripping' The Spectator
'Meticulously researched' The Times
'Kentridge is one of many lawyers to whom I will forever be in debt, and whose everyday fights against injustice should inspire us all' David Lammy
Sydney Kentridge carved out a reputation as South Africa's most prominent anti-apartheid advocate - his story is entwined with the country's emergence from racial injustice and oppression. He is the only advocate to have acted for three winners of the Nobel Peace Prize - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Chief Albert Lutuli. Already world-famous for his landmark cases including the Treason Trial of Nelson Mandela and the other leading members of the ANC, the inquiry into the Sharpeville massacre, and the inquest into the death of Steve Biko, he then became England's premier advocate.
Through the great set-pieces of the legal struggle against apartheid - cases which made the headlines not just in South Africa, but across the world - this biography is a portrait of enduring moral stature.
- GenresNonfictionAfrica
385 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 21, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 1, 2023
This is the remarkable story of the advocacy of Sydney Kentridge in the South African courts over a period of some twenty odd years, in which he was involved in the defence of a number of anti-apartheid activists in prominent trials, culminating in the representation of the Biko family at the inquest into the murder of Steve Biko in 1977. These trials included the Treason Trial of 1956 to 1960 in which he was part of the team that represented Nelson Mandela and the 155 other Treason Trialists, the enquiry into the Sharpeville Massacre, the defence of Bram Fischer, then Winnie Mandela in various trials from 1970-1986, the trial of the Very Rev. Gonville Ffrench-Beytagh, the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg from 1971-1972 and then the Biko Inquest of 1977. This is the story of a remarkable lawyer, who chose not to become a judge in the South African courts because that would have meant enforcing the apartheid laws. It is also beyond doubt that neither B.J. Vorster nor Jimmy Kruger, as the Ministers of Justice in the apartheid government would ever have appointed him to the bench.
That is the first thing that becomes clear in Thomas Grant’s account of Kentridge’s contribution in the courts to the ending of apartheid. Much was made by the apologists for apartheid of the “independence” of the South African judiciary. They were not independent; they enforced the law. Those who found such a role repugnant, given that it meant enforcing apartheid laws, did not put themselves forward for such a role. Moreover, the appointments to the judiciary were made by the Minister of Justice, and he (invariably a male) appointed people who were politically conformist to the ideology of the National Party, the ruling party throughout the life of apartheid government.
All of these trials, except perhaps that of the Dean of Johannesburg, are well known on the annals of the struggle against apartheid. What Thomas Grant makes clear in the narrative is that Kentridge was both a formidable and forensic cross-examiner of witnesses, able to expose the inconsistencies and downright lies of the apartheid police. The accounts quoted of the events at Sharpeville in 1960, which Kentridge established by cross-examination of the witnesses completely undermine the police allegation that the police station at the centre of Sharpeville was under attack. The destruction of the evidence of the police witnesses at the Biko Inquest is a masterclass in cross-examination. Kentridge is quite clearly a formidable opponent to face in a law court. He was not always on the winning side but he always exposed the brutality of the apartheid regime.
In the 1970s, Kentridge to a decision to relocate his practice from Johannesburg to London, which was eminently sensible when the murders of lawyers such as Victoria and Griffiths Mxenge and others are taken into account. It was after the Biko Inquest and before the imposition of the States of Emergency in the 1980s that he completed the transfer. He found a Chambers in the Inner Temple from which he could launch his practice, and was appointed as a QC in 1984, and practised at the English Bar from 1977-2013. Then he retired. Kentridge is now a centenarian, having made a formidable contribution to the rule of law in both South Africa and England.
I have one quibble with this book. On several occasions, Thomas Grant refers to Jon Blair, who wrote the Biko Inquest in which Albert Finney played Kentridge, as John Blair. This is incorrect and probably is the fault of the sub-editor. I was at the LSE with Jon Blair.
This book, however, is a remarkable tribute to a remarkable man, and everyone interested in South African history or jurisprudence should read it.
That is the first thing that becomes clear in Thomas Grant’s account of Kentridge’s contribution in the courts to the ending of apartheid. Much was made by the apologists for apartheid of the “independence” of the South African judiciary. They were not independent; they enforced the law. Those who found such a role repugnant, given that it meant enforcing apartheid laws, did not put themselves forward for such a role. Moreover, the appointments to the judiciary were made by the Minister of Justice, and he (invariably a male) appointed people who were politically conformist to the ideology of the National Party, the ruling party throughout the life of apartheid government.
All of these trials, except perhaps that of the Dean of Johannesburg, are well known on the annals of the struggle against apartheid. What Thomas Grant makes clear in the narrative is that Kentridge was both a formidable and forensic cross-examiner of witnesses, able to expose the inconsistencies and downright lies of the apartheid police. The accounts quoted of the events at Sharpeville in 1960, which Kentridge established by cross-examination of the witnesses completely undermine the police allegation that the police station at the centre of Sharpeville was under attack. The destruction of the evidence of the police witnesses at the Biko Inquest is a masterclass in cross-examination. Kentridge is quite clearly a formidable opponent to face in a law court. He was not always on the winning side but he always exposed the brutality of the apartheid regime.
In the 1970s, Kentridge to a decision to relocate his practice from Johannesburg to London, which was eminently sensible when the murders of lawyers such as Victoria and Griffiths Mxenge and others are taken into account. It was after the Biko Inquest and before the imposition of the States of Emergency in the 1980s that he completed the transfer. He found a Chambers in the Inner Temple from which he could launch his practice, and was appointed as a QC in 1984, and practised at the English Bar from 1977-2013. Then he retired. Kentridge is now a centenarian, having made a formidable contribution to the rule of law in both South Africa and England.
I have one quibble with this book. On several occasions, Thomas Grant refers to Jon Blair, who wrote the Biko Inquest in which Albert Finney played Kentridge, as John Blair. This is incorrect and probably is the fault of the sub-editor. I was at the LSE with Jon Blair.
This book, however, is a remarkable tribute to a remarkable man, and everyone interested in South African history or jurisprudence should read it.
January 6, 2023
Glorious book, written in a precise, biographical register but never fails to be absolutely gripping, insightful and profound. It tells the story of towering legal genius, Sydney Kentridge, through his role in specific cases - the Treason Trial, The Rivonia Trial, The Biko Inquest, defending Winnie Mandela and the 22. I have read so many details of almost all the cases described in the book and yet found in each chapter new and interesting details about each - as well as riveting court testimony. At its core, the question it ultimately asks, is whether there is value to lawyering and human rights' law in a fundamentally unjust legal system. Gautam Bhatia, the legal scholar and lawyer, has written an astute commentary on just this question (https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2...).
Sydney Kentridge's successes and failures (many of the seminal moments of the book actually deal with painful failures of the law and of litigating injustice) do little to dislodge my gathering conviction that the establishment of rule of law is ultimately a political decision, driven by social and economic forces above all else. Yet despite that, I am persuaded by this account,that the right legal mind in a thoroughly rotten system like apartheid can force the system to account for its deep iniquities. That by forcing the system to confront its acute contradictions, one can weaken it ever so slightly.
Whether that applies to contexts like Zimbabwe, or Pakistan, or increasingly India, where defenders of outright injustice are happy to clothe their sentiments in a mixture of untruths or righteous whataboutery, I am not entirely sure. That there remains deep, enduring value in challenging these systems through use of their own internal rules, is something I am more convinced of after Grant's magnificent account.
Sydney Kentridge's successes and failures (many of the seminal moments of the book actually deal with painful failures of the law and of litigating injustice) do little to dislodge my gathering conviction that the establishment of rule of law is ultimately a political decision, driven by social and economic forces above all else. Yet despite that, I am persuaded by this account,that the right legal mind in a thoroughly rotten system like apartheid can force the system to account for its deep iniquities. That by forcing the system to confront its acute contradictions, one can weaken it ever so slightly.
Whether that applies to contexts like Zimbabwe, or Pakistan, or increasingly India, where defenders of outright injustice are happy to clothe their sentiments in a mixture of untruths or righteous whataboutery, I am not entirely sure. That there remains deep, enduring value in challenging these systems through use of their own internal rules, is something I am more convinced of after Grant's magnificent account.
August 27, 2023
"effective lawyering lies in a combination of heart and mind and very hard work."
Kentridge is an inspiration to me and the book offered great examples of his cross examination techniques and his approach in presenting cases. I expect to refer to this book many times in my future career and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the law.
Kentridge is an inspiration to me and the book offered great examples of his cross examination techniques and his approach in presenting cases. I expect to refer to this book many times in my future career and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the law.
August 14, 2022
Review to come.
August 25, 2024
4.5 stars
July 17, 2023
An engaging foray into the (literal) trials and tribulations of a very effective and outstanding public lawyer, Sydney Kentridge. While mostly a pleasure to read, the author does seem to struggle in making the link between Kentridges advocacy and social reform in South Africa at times.
Grant’s account goes far in showing the more reformative and non-conservative side of law, and i lm sure anyone who doubts that law can protect victims of political oppression from an overbearing and manifestly unjust policy programme. In my opinion a strong introduction to public law for anyone unfamiliar.
Grant’s account goes far in showing the more reformative and non-conservative side of law, and i lm sure anyone who doubts that law can protect victims of political oppression from an overbearing and manifestly unjust policy programme. In my opinion a strong introduction to public law for anyone unfamiliar.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews