Moseneke biography of george michael

Chief Justice of South Africa

Mogoeng Thomas Reetsang Mogoeng (born 14 January 1961) is a South Africanjurist who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa from 8 September 2011 until his retirement on 11 October 2021.

Early life

Mogoeng was born on 14 January 1961 in Goo-Mokgatha (Koffiekraal) village near Zeerust in the North West Province. His father was a miner and his mother a domestic worker. Mogoeng became politically active at high school, from which he was briefly suspended for organising a memorial to the victims of the Soweto uprising.

Mogoeng received a B.Juris in 1983 from the University of Zululand and a Bachelor of Laws in 1985 from the University of Natal. There he had been active in the Azanian Students' Movement during a time of grave repression by the SADF. From 1985 he worked for the government of Bophuthatswana as a High Courtprosecutor in Mahikeng; though working for a bantustan was stigmatised, Mogoeng was obliged to do so for five years to repay his government bursary. He obtained a Master of Laws by correspondence from the University of South Africa in 1989.

Mogoeng left Bophuthatswana's civil service the following year to begin practice as an advocate. After a short period at the JohannesburgBar, Mogoeng returned to Mahikeng, where he practiced for six years. He was the chair of Lawyers for Human Rights' Bophuthatswana chapter and a part-time lecturer at the University of Bophuthatswana (now North-West University).

Judicial career

In 1997, Mogoeng accepted an appointment to the North West High Court, though he had felt initially that he was too inexperienced to be made a judge. He became a judge of the Labour Appeal Court in 2000 and the Judge President of the North West High Court in 20

A powerful memoir of activism, dedication, and a life committed to justice and equality in apartheid-era South Africa.

‘My Own Liberator spans some eight decades and sheds light on a remarkable and distinguished life as well as on of the history of South Africa and leading figures in changing times to paint a compelling double portrait of the author’s personal life and the history of South Africa’s journey from apartheid to democracy.’ — SALA citation

‘The first of a two-part memoir, the former deputy chief justice writes movingly of the many people who influenced him on the road to becoming one of the most respected legal minds in South Africa.’ — Tymon Smith, The Times

‘Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s biography, My Own Liberator, is a welcome instalment in the increasing body of African literature and biographies ... Through this book he has allowed us a sneak preview of his still-incomplete life, and this book is recommended for its wit, depth and lucidity.’ — Thami Ka Plaatjie, Sunday Independent Dispatches

‘… a beautiful memoir that is simultaneously poignant and enthralling *My Own Liberator charts a life from Pretoria’s version of Sophiatown, Lady Selborne, to Atteridgeville, Robben Island as South Africa’s youngest political prisoner, lawyer, silk and finally after becoming acclaimed one of our most revered jurists ever.’ — Kevin Ritchie, Weekend Argus

In My Own Liberator, Dikgang Moseneke pays homage to the many people and places that have helped to define and shape him. Tracing his ancestry, the influence on both his maternal and paternal sides is evident in the values they imbued in their children – the importance of family, the value of hard work and education, an uncompromising moral code, compassion for those less fortunate and unflinching refusal to accept an unjust political regime or acknowledge its oppressive laws.

As a young activist in the Pan-Africanist Congress, at the tender age of fifteen,