Never too old to be advocate

A 71-year old’s dream to become an advocate is finally to be realised.

Phillip Dhlamini has been invited by the High Court in Johannesburg to be admitted as an advocate from 13 October.

The jubilant retired colonel of the SA National Defence Force made headlines in 2015, when he successfully took the University of Limpopo to the High Court in Pretoria, where they were ordered to allow him to register and study his LLB degree although he only reached Standard 6 [Grade 8] about four decades ago.

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At 69, Dhlamini attended a virtual graduation ceremony in 2020, due to lockdown restrictions.

He is now set to face judicial presiding officers as he will be representing his own clients.

Dhlamini first wants to practice as a lawyer around Gauteng and later extend it to Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga.

He did not allow his age or the fact that he did not have matric to determine his fate; his resilience stood tall until all his dreams were realised.

Dhlamini told The Citizen that he rejected an offer to represent the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in parliament in 2016, when its leader was forcefully removed.

Instead, he chose to follow his dreams. The pensioner’s dream does not end here – he still plans to study further.

“God willing, I would like to do a masters degree and thereafter, if successful, God willing again, I would like to study for a doctorate. Nothing stops a determined person,” he said.

The department of military veterans (DMV) spokesperson Lebogang Mothapa said the department was encouraged by the good news.

“Military veterans and their dependants are urged to come forward and take advantage of our education support programmes,” he said.

One of his former fellow students, Ouma Makgakga, said it was not easy to befriend and relate to someone who is the same age as her grandparents.

“At first it was not easy, until I saw the kind of person he was. I was able to open up to him about anything and he played a parental role to me. He was so eager to listen and I was always ready to disclose anything to him.”

His lecturer and director at School of Law, advocate Mashele Rapatsa, said it was “a special moment in our lifetime” when the university successfully delivered an LLB graduate in Dhlamini.

“We are exceedingly ecstatic as we celebrate the never-ending successes of Dhlamini. We are proud to have him among our alumni. Indeed, he epitomises excellence at its best.

“The fact that he was able to complete LLB at his age is testimony to the mantra of finding solutions for Africa.”

Dhlamini was born in Kliptown, before his parents relocated to Moroka, both in Soweto, when he was young.

His family then moved to Zola, also in Soweto, where he began and completed primary school.

Dhlamini is part of the 1976 generation of leaders and was also involved as a first-year student in 2016, when the FeesMustFall movement was taking place.

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