By Lutendo Benedict Sigogo

This is the story of one of the unsung heroes of our time. The uncompromising protagonist of socio-economic transformation in general and in the legal profession in particular. A man of great intellectual ability and a giant in the legal sphere, but yet a very humble and grounded individual. A shrewd lawyer of high political consciousness who remained true to his beliefs and calling, until his last days in this world. This tribute is to advocate Imrann Moosa for a life lived to advance the course of others.

Mr Moosa was born on 7 January 1959. He was born a leader as his leadership ability showed itself at a tender age as he became Vice-Chairperson of the Students’ Representative Council and editor of its magazine, the Oracle, while still at high school level of his education. At University, he continued to display leadership ability when he became the Chairperson of Black Students Society, the organisation he co-founded with other black students.

He matriculated in 1976. A telling year in as far as student politics are concerned in our history. It is believed that the 1976 student uprisings had an everlasting impact on Mr Moosa with regard to how he embraced politics and his respect to human rights and the rule of law.

In 1979 Mr Moosa obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of South Africa and later on he passed his LLB degree through the University of Natal in 1982. After his graduation he was called to the Bar on 16 May 1983. He practiced as a private advocate from December 1983 to March 1992. As an advocate he could have had a thriving practice some years after he was admitted, but like other politically conscious prominent people who came before him, he chose the course of the people above his own indulgence. He joined the Black Lawyers Association Legal Education Centre (BLA LEC) where he worked as a litigation officer and later as the Director of Professional Affairs. This was as a result of the realisation that alone his impact on the fight against inequality and unjust laws would be negligible than when he worked with other like-minded people. It is when he was a litigation officer at the BLA LEC that he sharpened his skills as a people’s litigator. This is where he discovered his love for trial advocacy. A subject that he taught until he passed away.

Teaching was in Mr Moosa’s blood. This is the other contribution that he gave to the community. He lectured at different institutions of higher learning, for instance he held a position of lecturer ‘A’ at the Vista University for a period of seven months, then a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Fort Hare for a period of just more than six years. He was also a Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Fort Hare for approximately three years.

After serving in various structures at different positions, Mr Moosa returned to his private practice on 6 December 2006 until his death. He participated in a number of professional organisations, either as an ordinary member or in a leadership position. We recognise that he was a founding member of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL) where he served as its first Deputy Secretary under the presidency of Dumisa Ntsebeza (SC); and later the founding chairperson of the BLA Durban Branch. He was a member of the Advocates for Transformation.

Mr Moosa was bred in the Black Consciousness philosophy and later on became a prominent member of Azanian People’s Organisation, the organisation that he defended many times and served on its structures with distinction.

Mr Moosa was a prolific writer, author and editor and above all he was an intellectual. He is the quintessential example of black excellence.  His love of writing showed itself at a very early age through his participation in the Oracle. The skills he later used to full potential when he became the editor of the African Law Review, the BLA law journal, at the time that he was with the BLA LEC. He also published a number of his articles with Frank Talk the publication of which he was also the editor.

In his publications and court cases he dealt with topical issues, which affected the lives of the ordinary people, and contemporary issues in both national and legal profession discourse.

At the time of his passing he was the secretary of the Durban Branch of the BLA.

Mr Moosa believed in doing what is good for others rather than to serve himself. Satisfaction for Mr Moosa was not based on monetary value but on exerting himself for the benefit of others. He earned his respect from colleagues, peers, clients and his distractors for his outstanding values and the respect for the rule of law. He truly applied himself to the task at hand. He always had encouraging and positive feedback from his clients. It was difficult to be the same person after Mr Moosa engaged with you. He had the extraordinary power of persuasion, he would change your world view and political understanding. His strength was honesty and always telling the truth.  The BLA is honoured and privileged to have had Mr Moosa as one of its members. He gave himself to the course and objectives of the BLA. He would never keep quite when people showed signs of forgetting what the organisation stood for.

The passing of Mr Moosa is a serious loss to the BLA as an organisation. We do not have an answer on why we allowed Mr Moosa to depart us without collecting all his writings – in a volume – to mark the positive intellectual contribution to the BLA through its members in the national knowledge development discourse. Mr Moosa is a great example through which we can disprove our disparagers, those who claim that we are only consumers of knowledge but fail to produce our own. This great yet humble man played his part in this regard. Apart from producing many lawyers and other leaders, he also helped hone their legal skills. Trial advocacy was his passion that he lived to impart to those who presented themselves to him to learn.

Mr Moosa lived and died doing good for others. This is how some people who he came into contact with viewed him: ‘Imrann is an astute deep thinker who will give more than monetary value for any brief given to him. He is one of the few robust intellectuals serving the profession’ (Jay Surju – Mr Moosa’s client who is a lawyer himself (www.linkedin.com, accessed 15-5-2017)).

The well-known Durban businessman, Dumisani Nene, said that while studying towards his LLB degree from the former University of Durban – Westville he was inspired by Mr Moosa to be a political lawyer. He further said that:

‘I spent a lot of time in (Moosa’s) chambers as a student and I learnt of litigation strategies that were very inspiring’ (Xolile Bhengu ‘Sharing success’ (www.sowetanlive.co.za, accessed 15-5-2017)).

These are a few examples of what impact Mr Moosa left in the lives of many South Africans. We know that Mr Moosa’s chambers were the peoples’ chambers and at the time of his passing arrangements were being made to open BLA offices in his chambers.

The special place occupied by Mr Moosa in the BLA will be difficult to fill. With his extensive knowledge, Mr Moosa had a big role to play in the shaping of the legal profession in the new dispensation. In recognition of the role he played in the BLA when we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the BLA in October 2017, the BLA will also be celebrating Mr Moosa’s life and the contribution he made to the legal profession and to the BLA in particular.

The BLA sends its deepest sympathy and condolences to the Moosa family (particularly his two sons, brother and sister), relatives and colleagues in the legal and political spheres of life. As the BLA we will forever be indebted to the Moosa family who agreed to share this extraordinary person with us. They did not privatise him, but agreed that he must be a national asset to be of value to all.

Mr Moosa’s contribution to our cause is priceless. The BLA does not see any other fitting way to say thank you to Mr Moosa for his selflessness than by collecting and collating all his known writings and cases in a volume under his name and thereby immortalising him.

Lutendo Benedict Sigogo, President of the Black Lawyers Association.

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2017 (June) DR 14.