Quote of the week
Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Zuma and Others (CCT 52/21) [2021] ZACC 18
Calling Cape Town lawyers to do Pro Bono work
ProBono.Org has recently launched an office in Cape Town and they assist the indigent and poor who are unable to afford legal fees when they are in need of legal representation.
ProBono.Org acts as a legal clearinghouse and aims to provide pro bono legal assistance to indigent and marginalised persons through the private legal profession. In doing so, we aim to get Attorneys and Advocates on board to join our panel in order for us to send them instructions and briefs on areas of law which they may be interested in and prefer doing. As such, we are one of the Cape Law Society’s recognised structures, and Attorneys may elect to receive tailored pro bono instructions from only our office instead. ProBono.Org will then track, record and report on pro bono hours to the Cape Law Society directly.
In addition, we aim to hold legal clinics and community workshops staffed by representatives from various firms on different legal issues such as Deceased Estates, Family Law related matters, Consumer Law related matters and Housing matters, to name a few. These legal clinics and community workshops would be hosted at our offices in Cape Town and at other venues such as the Master’s Office, Deeds Office, and various Magistrate’s Courts etc, thereby making access to justice realisable.
Furthermore, we aim to organise legal seminars conducted by Attorneys or Advocates on various legal issues, thereby educating fellow legal professionals on areas of the law that may be unfamiliar to them.
ProBono.Org is recognised by the Cape Law Society, as such, attorneys who are willing to join their panel can elect to receive instructions from their office which will keep a record of hours spent on a matter and this will be directly reported to the Cape Law Society.
Kind regards
Ellen Boriwondo
Legal Intern
ProBono.Org
Suite 200
2nd Floor
57 on Strand
Strand Street
Cape Town
8001
t: 087 806 6070
f: 086 665 6740
ellen@probono.org.za
