HONOUR BIZOS BY WEARING YOUR ORANGE MASK
Anti-apartheid lawyer George Bizos, who passed away this week, leaves behind an illustrious legal legacy. However, when one thinks of the various political trials he was involved in and the array of human rights issues about which he was vocal, there are three words he used that really stand out: “If needs be.”
Those who interacted with Comrade Bizos knew that he loved telling stories, particularly the one about how he persuaded Nelson Mandela to add those three words to his famous concluding remarks from the dock during the Rivonia Trial.
Those words now remain etched in our history, embedded in one of the most iconic speeches ever delivered by an accused in a South African court: “During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of
