Zondo remembers Frene Ginwala: ‘She helped produce our constitution’

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo says South Africa ‘will forever be grateful’ to former speaker of the country’s first democratic Parliament, Dr Frene Ginwala.

Ginwala died on Thursday night at the age of 90, following a stroke two weeks ago.

Ginwala: Head of one of the three arms of state

Zondo stated that Ginwala, as Parliament speaker, headed up one of the three arms of the state, namely, Parliament.

“The Chief Justice sends his heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the former speaker.

The people of South Africa will forever be grateful to Dr Ginwala for her immense contribution in the fight against apartheid and in the struggle for a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa,” said Zondo’s office in a statement.

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“We mourn the passing of Dr Frene Ginwala and celebrate her illustrious life and her contribution to the freedom that we all enjoy today. We thank her family for sharing her with all the people of South Africa and beyond.”

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Ginwala’s contributions to South Africa

Ginwala made many contributions in different capacities to South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

Zondo emphasized that it was during Ginwala’s term of office as speaker that our first democratic Parliament repealed a number of apartheid laws.

It was also during her time as speaker that the country’s first democratic Parliament passed our Supreme Law, namely, the Constitution.

“The Constitution that Dr Ginwala helped produce for South Africa contains the Bill of Rights, which provides for an independent Judiciary and constituted South Africa as a democratic state founded on, among others, the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality, the advancement of human rights and freedom, non-racialism, non-sexism, supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

For this, our country will forever be indebted to Dr Ginwala and many others.”

Zondo said Ginwala joins many leaders of our country who fought for our freedom who have since passed on and who have left us a constitutional democracy that we must protect at all times.

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