Deaths of Prof Jakes Gerwel and former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson

This statement was issued to the media on 4 December 2012

With the deaths of Professor Jakes Gerwel and former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, we have lost two great figures of the struggle, who also showed us what it means to uphold the highest of the principles that shaped and drove those years, in the new era of democracy.

In academia and education, and in law, they reached the top of their profession, demonstrating the much needed lesson of how this can be done in the service of our nation and all its people. Speaking out at the heart of the establishment, they served the voiceless and marginalised. They set an example from which we should all learn. We offer thanks to God for their life and witness, and the indelible influence for good that they have left us. We pray that by God’s grace we may follow in their footsteps, and uphold their legacy.

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, I extend my condolences to their families and all who loved them, and assure them of our prayers for these good and faithful servants of freedom and justice of our times.