South Africa’s former Public Protector, who took on President Jacob Zuma over the use of taxpayers’ money to upgrade his home, will be awarded the prestigious prize for her commitment to fighting corruption.
Some have called her a woman of steel. Others say she is the voice of the voiceless. As the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela has worked tirelessly to protect the public from corruption and incompetence by government institutions and officials.
Now the former Public Protector advocate Thuli Madonsela will travel to Melbourne in March to accept the third Commonwealth Law Conference Rule of Law award.
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) nominated Madonsela for the accolade and congratulated her on Monday.
“We are delighted and proud that this worthy South African lawyer will receive international recognition from her peers across the Commonwealth for her work in protecting our Constitution and promoting the concept of the Rule of Law‚’ said LSSA co-chairpersons Jan van Rensburg and Mvuzo Notyesi.
The Rule of Law award will be presented to Madonsela by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA). The award recognises an individual or firm that has an outstanding contribution to the rule of law‚ which has an impact both within their own country and the Commonwealth.
The CLA said Madonsela had demonstrated to South Africans the merit in pursuing truth‚ regardless of the obstacles‚ in her tenure as Public Protector.
“Advocate Madonsela created a beacon of hope for all South Africans in ensuring that the public was not only aware of the public abuse of power‚ but also that they had recourse against it‚” it said.
Canadian lawyer Robin Sully‚ who has dedicated her life’s work to the protection of human rights‚ and former president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka Upul Jayasuriya are the award’s two previous winners.
Her work has earned her respect from renowned South Africans. Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, an organization established by the late president Nelson Mandela, praised Madonsela for her commitment to the role of Public Protector.
“The efforts of her office have upheld the constitution as the supreme law, and ensured that nobody is, nor should be, above the law.”
After finishing her seven-year term as Public Protector in October‚ Madonsela has been named Forbes Africa ‘Person of the Year 2016’ and received special honours at the 2016 Mahatma Gandhi Awards.
She has been awarded Doctor of Law degrees from the University of Stellenbosch‚ the University of Cape Town‚ Rhodes University and the University of Fort Hare.
Madonsela, a 53 year-old mother of two, was appointed as Public Protector by President Jacob Zuma in 2009, and her term in office came to an end late 2016. It’s a job set up in the constitution to investigate misconduct in state affairs and operates independently of the government.
She is currently working on her memoir‚ to be released next year.
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