Denis Kuny earns his place in SA history books

His work defending political detainees under apartheid in court cases that ended up defining South Africa’s democracy earned Denis Kuny a place in the country’s history books. But it’s a place he never set out to occupy.

“I was never political – I was never a member of any political party – and I didn’t seek these matters out. They just came to me,” Kuny said this month from his Johannesburg home as he looked back on his career in the wake of the death of his friend and former colleague George Bizos.

The death of Bizos – which came just months after that of the last Rivonia triallist, Andrew Mlangeni – has rendered Kuny, now 88, the last surviving person to have been involved in the most politically significant case in the history of South Africa. Kuny, like Bizos, worked on the defence and he represented fellow lawyer Jimmy Kantor.

When he speaks about it, he’s quick to point out he was only involved for a short period before a very public altercation with the public prosecutor, Percy Yutar, ultimately saw him walk away.

Legendary South African anti-apartheid defense lawyer (retired) Denis Kuny speaks to The Citizen at his home in Johannesburg, 16 September 2020. Picture; Nigel Sibanda

“But everyone who was involved in that trial felt very similarly – it wasn’t a question of guilt or innocence, it was a question of why people had done what they had done,” he said.

During the course of his career, Kuny acted in a number of high-profile cases and he can recount each one – from the Rivonia Trial to Bram Fischer’s trial to the Nusas trial and all those in between – in painstaking detail.

“I was one of the people who were sought after and found myself – without intending to – appearing in many cases which had a political taint,” he said.

He also found himself working alongside the likes of Bizos as well as Joel Joffe, Arthur Chaskalson and Bram Fischer. They were part of a small handful of lawyers who were willing to take on political cases at the time – with a number of others refusing to work with them as a result – and so ended up being thrown together automatically.

They went on, however, to forge from the courtroom trenches a brotherhood that continued for years to come. While he might not have been “political”, Kuny was – and remains – a man of principle and felt morally compelled to when called to, stand up for those who found themselves on the receiving end of the apartheid government’s wrath.

“I just felt that it was right and proper,” he said. So, too, did his peers. Many of them opted not to become card-carrying members of any political party so as not to compromise their ability to do their jobs.

“But we were all fighting against apartheid and these cases were all a part of that,” Kuny said.

“So we all thought similarly, we felt similarly and many of us became personal friends”.

As the apartheid government continued tightening its grip and more and more of those close to him began finding themselves in the dock, it became difficult for Kuny to separate his personal life from his professional life.

Legendary South African anti-apartheid defense lawyer (retired) Denis Kuny speaks to The Citizen at his home in Johannesburg, 16 September 2020. Picture; Nigel Sibanda

“It became very difficult because I was personally friendly with many of the people who ended up being charged and particularly when Bram Fischer – who I had worked with – was an accused,” he said, “But it was just part of the way in which history went. And today, many of those people have achieved all sorts of remarkable things.”

Reflecting on Bizos, Kuny said their families had first become close not long after he started practicing law.

“George was a very benevolent man and he was involved in all sorts of things,” he said, pointing to, for example, his work helping found Saheti School. Kuny also recalled Bizos’ love of soccer. “I mean I doubt George ever kicked a football in his life,” he laughed.

“But you’d walk into the common room and I find him surrounded by a crowd, talking about football.”

And he remembered Bizos’ love of Greek literature and Greek culture in general. Of the legacy he hoped to leave, Kuny said simply he wanted to be remembered for being decent. Kuny said that’s what the fight against apartheid was about.

– bernadettew@citizen.co.za

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