Justice Albie Sachs settles into the couch in the foyer of the East Wing Administration Building at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) - just moments before he is due to receive a Gold Medal honour from the institution.
Before he got comfortable in his seat, he smiled and said, “I’m having a bit of a UWC season right now!”
Left, UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Tyrone Pretorius. Middle, Justice Albie Sachs. Right, UWC Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.
He explained that he’d been on campus earlier that week as a guest of the UWC Law Faculty, and now he’s returned for the gala ceremony where Honorary Doctorates and his Gold Medal would be awarded.
In his trademark humble nature, he said: “And I don't have to do anything (at the ceremony). I just have to look demure and hear nice things said about me, which is always very, very, very pleasant.”
Justice Sachs’ UWC journey started almost immediately when he returned from exile in 1990.
He said: “When I returned from 24 years of exile, I effectively came straight to UWC.
Dullah Omar was complaining; he was saying: ‘The exiles were not coming back, and the ANC is waiting forever. Albie, you must come back, not as ANC, but as Professor Albie Sachs. I can invite you to be Professor.’
“So, it saved me from all sorts of, if you like, revolutionary bureaucracy, waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting.”
He didn’t have to wait long. He recalled that after landing at the airport, he was whisked to his second home, UWC: “I was met at the airport, and there was great jubilation. And the next thing, I'm staying with Dullah and Farida Omar, quite close to Klipfontein Road, in Mabel Road, and hot-footing to UWC.”
Justice Sachs said he was thrown into the deep end when he first arrived at UWC.
“In fact, I arrived on a Saturday, and on Sunday he (Dullah Omar) hauls me off to a huge conference at UWC of Muslim South Africans, from all over the country. And the issue was the future of Islam in a democratic South Africa. The next thing I know, I'm pushed onto the stage by Dullah and you must talk.”
The Honorary Doctorate Awards ceremony took place days after former UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Brian O’Connell passed away. Justice Sachs said: “The news of his passing came as a shock, and a shock partly because he represented vitality and energy.”
He added: “There were other people who had more degrees than he had and were more learned and sophisticated in the language of scholarship. Wow, man, he got it. He made things move. He had wonderful relationships with people. He was positive and encouraging and collegial. So I felt immense sadness.”
Justice Sachs received the UWC Gold Medal Award which honours individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to community upliftment through exceptional leadership and involvement.
Before he got comfortable in his seat, he smiled and said, “I’m having a bit of a UWC season right now!”
Left, UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Tyrone Pretorius. Middle, Justice Albie Sachs. Right, UWC Chancellor, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.In his trademark humble nature, he said: “And I don't have to do anything (at the ceremony). I just have to look demure and hear nice things said about me, which is always very, very, very pleasant.”
Justice Sachs’ UWC journey started almost immediately when he returned from exile in 1990.
He said: “When I returned from 24 years of exile, I effectively came straight to UWC.
Dullah Omar was complaining; he was saying: ‘The exiles were not coming back, and the ANC is waiting forever. Albie, you must come back, not as ANC, but as Professor Albie Sachs. I can invite you to be Professor.’
“So, it saved me from all sorts of, if you like, revolutionary bureaucracy, waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting.”
He didn’t have to wait long. He recalled that after landing at the airport, he was whisked to his second home, UWC: “I was met at the airport, and there was great jubilation. And the next thing, I'm staying with Dullah and Farida Omar, quite close to Klipfontein Road, in Mabel Road, and hot-footing to UWC.”
Justice Sachs said he was thrown into the deep end when he first arrived at UWC.
“In fact, I arrived on a Saturday, and on Sunday he (Dullah Omar) hauls me off to a huge conference at UWC of Muslim South Africans, from all over the country. And the issue was the future of Islam in a democratic South Africa. The next thing I know, I'm pushed onto the stage by Dullah and you must talk.”
The Honorary Doctorate Awards ceremony took place days after former UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Brian O’Connell passed away. Justice Sachs said: “The news of his passing came as a shock, and a shock partly because he represented vitality and energy.”
He added: “There were other people who had more degrees than he had and were more learned and sophisticated in the language of scholarship. Wow, man, he got it. He made things move. He had wonderful relationships with people. He was positive and encouraging and collegial. So I felt immense sadness.”
Justice Sachs received the UWC Gold Medal Award which honours individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to community upliftment through exceptional leadership and involvement.
