Victoria Mxenge Group launch: adopting group values By Susannah Cowen, Bar

Victoria Mxenge was born in 1942 in the ANC, had caused his death, a lie that Tamara Village in King Williams Town.* Mrs Mxenge did not live to see officially She trained initially as a nurse and a mid- exposed. After her husband’s death, Mrs wife, but later turned to the practice of law. Mxenge’s resolve to fight injustice was In 1985, at the age of 43, she was mur- strengthened and she became an icon of dered by agents of the state. She the struggle. Her two sons, Mbasa and was murdered not long after she addressed Viwe, and her daughter Namhla were only 50 000 mourners at the funeral of the Cra- 15, 10 and 6 when her husband, their dock Four: , , father, was killed. and . It By any measure, she must have been was shortly before the an extraordinary human being whose life Group leader Muzi Sikhakhane with Judge Kathree- treason trial. She was part of the trialists’ can only inspire. Setiloane. defence team. On 19 November 2011, the anniversary Her brutal and untimely death sent of ’s death, eleven mem- shock waves through her community, which bers of the Johannesburg Bar launched a she had served throughout her life. As a new group. With the blessing of the Mxenge lawyer, her practice was marked by service family, they have named themselves the of those in need, students facing detention Victoria Mxenge group. It was an occasion and those who suffered at the hands of when one could feel proud to be associated the apartheid regime. She was a prominent with the profession. The event took place anti-apartheid activist, a member of the at the group’s new offices, which are Natal Organisation of Women and active located in Sandown Village, Sandton in in UDF structures. the same building occupied by the Duma She served her community, as did so Nokwe group and the General Council of many others of that time, in the face of the Bar. The event was well attended by Namhla Mxenge giving the concluding speech. great personal loss. Her husband, Griffiths members of the Mxenge family, the ju- Mxenge, was imprisoned for two years on diciary, the profession and civil society. Langa explained that after Griffiths Mxen- Robben Island shortly after their marriage Former Chief Justice Pius Langa, who ge’s death, Victoria Mxenge, who had by and subjected thereafter to a banning was a close friend and colleague of the then qualified as a lawyer, took over her order. He endured various periods of de- Mxenges and who remains close to their husband’s practice and strengthened and tention including 109 days’ solitary con- children, presented a deeply moving key- developed it ’to make it a central place of finement. In , he was bru- note address providing personal insight to the struggle for democracy’ and a place tally murdered by agents of the apartheid the qualities, life and legacy of this ’Great for people who were ’most poorly treated state, a truth that was publically acknowl- Lady of the Struggle.’ At the heart of his by the system.’ She also opened her home edged only as a result of the Truth and address was a challenge to the lawyers who to accommodate those in need, mothering Reconciliation Commission, which granted have associated themselves with her name: them through their troubles. three of his killers amnesty. At the time of ’Those of us who were close to her congra- Namhla Mxenge gave the concluding his assassination, Police General Johan tulate this group of advocates in setting for speech speaking for the family. Her words Coetzee claimed that his own organisation, themselves the highest of ideals that Mrs were living testimony to the values her Mxenge stood for, by adopting her name parents espoused. The warmth and inte- as the name of the group.’ grity with which she told her story utterly * In compiling the information about Victoria Mxenge, I have drawn heavily on Deputy Chief Justice Mo- The legacy of the woman he described belied the horror her family has lived seneke’s Inaugural Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge was not only that of a woman who through and reminded us that at the heart Memorial lecture of 30 October 2009 ‘Establishing responded to her set backs with ‘steely de- of what we do are the people whom we Social Consensus of the Shifting Boundaries between Judicial and Executive Functions of the State – Lessons termination’ and a woman who dedicated serve and the humanity we can bring to of the Recent Past’ and from the presentation of former her life to promoting social justice. The our profession. It is a wonderful turn of Chief Justice Langa at the launch of the Victoria legacy portrayed was one of extraordinary history that the Mxenge’s daughter can Mxenge group on 19 November 2011. Any errors remain those of the author. compassion and humanity. Chief Justice stand at a podium and offer her challenge

Advocate April 2012 31 Members of the Victoria Mxenge Group with family. to the members of the new group. She society by apartheid and colonialism. ‘In vocates in Johannesburg, our groups are said: ’You must ask yourselves every day honour of this selfless lawyer who paid the a central part of our professional identities. whether you are living in the path left by ultimate price, we hope to make our humble Of course, the Bar plays both a foun- Victoria Mxenge.’ contribution to the creation of a new society, dational and defining role in how we are The picture she left of her mother, who and to practice our noble trade with ex- organized and how we practise. But we died when she was 10, is of an enormously cellence and utmost professionalism.’ tend to work closely with colleagues in our courageous and loving woman who, In short, the group is seeking to create groups, we rely on our fellow group mem- quoting Theodore Roosevelt’s words, ‘lived a place where its members live the values bers to create the professional ethos we in the arena.’ they believe in and to lead by example. observe and to engender a suitable work- In the words of group leader Muzi They want to create a form of advocacy ing environment. And perhaps most im- Sikhakhane: ’The naming of our Group where law is accessible and at the centre portantly, our groups can provide a crucial after Victoria Mxenge is an expression of of struggles for justice. mechanism through which we are able to our commitment to the principles and The launch was a memorable evening forge change within the profession at a values for which, as a lawyer, she lived and both of reflection and celebration. It pro- micro-level. died. At the centre of all human struggles vided an opportunity to reflect on the legacy It is thus no surprise that a group is and struggles for justice in particular, must of a great South African and to remember largely defined by the values to which it be the people, especially those on the the suffering she and her family endured subscribes whether stated expressly or margins of the human condition. In our while playing their part to make South infused in its practices. daily practice as advocates we hope to be Africa what it is today. It was also an op- Whether we are organised in groups guided by the values for which Victoria portunity to remind ourselves that good can or buildings or some combination, we all Mxenge and her husband, Griffiths Mxen- come from struggle if we work with de- set an example by the values we adopt ge, were brutally murdered by the apartheid termination, compassion and courage. It when we practise, which in turn will de- state.’ was indeed a privilege to celebrate with termine how well we serve. There are, of The key commitment the Victoria Mxen- our colleagues the start of the journey that course, many ways in which we might ge group has made is to transformation. they have embarked upon. One can only choose to articulate our values and there But this is not a reference merely to briefing applaud our colleagues’ initiative and wish are many amongst us who have led and patterns. Muzi Sikhakhane explains: ’Ac- them well. inspired and continue to do so in a range cess to justice is as important. Our group As a fellow counsel, however, it was of important ways. But perhaps the estab- is committed to ensuring, through indi- impossible to leave the event without lishment of the Victoria Mxenge group may vidual and group initiatives the facilitation reflecting personally about the challenges provide an apt moment for us all to reflect, of access to justice for those whose material presented by Chief Justice Langa and and re-evaluate whether the values that we conditions still reflect the dehumanising Namhla Mxenge to the members of the new embrace will leave a legacy of which we conditions of poverty engraved on our group. For those of us practising as ad- can be proud. A

32 Advocate April 2012