
Celebrated human rights lawyer Priscilla Jana has died.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said in a statement on Saturday night: "The passing of Priscilla Jana has robbed the liberation movement and the people of South Africa of one of its most distinguished daughters who served her nation with distinction. From an early age Priscilla Jana developed an awareness of the brutality and injustice of apartheid."
Jana served as an MP in parliament from 1994 to 1999, was a South African ambassador to Holland and Ireland, and served as the deputy chairperson of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). She served as one of former president Nelson Mandela's attorneys while he was imprisoned on Robben Island.
She also represented Solomon Mahlangu and played a role in creating international awareness against Mahlangu's execution.
I was just 19 yrs when the apartheid regime picked me up from my hiding spot. For 3 days no one knew where they kept me. It took this brave woman to force the regime to declare my whereabouts after they’ve tortured me. #RIPPriscillaJana pic.twitter.com/6lcgFDurUn
— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) October 10, 2020
"Her clients included some of the key political figures as well as the defenceless and downtrodden. Her determination to fight the vicious and evil system of apartheid saw her joining the underground networks of the ANC," Mabe said.
#COSATU sends its heartfelt condolences to the family of a tried and tested Human Rights Lawyer, #PriscillaJana who assisted many youth activists during their incarceration with legal representation in the 1980s #RIPPriscillaJana #HambaKahlePriscillaJana pic.twitter.com/bosq8jJH1g pic.twitter.com/rj8FkguDDJ
— @COSATU Today (@_cosatu) October 10, 2020
The SAHRC said in a statement on Saturday, "South Africa has lost a giant, who sacrificed herself selflessly for us all to enjoy the fruit of the constitutional democracy that we enjoy today... She continued to give of herself, well up until the age of 76, still labouring tirelessly to substantively turn South Africa into a country where all people who live in it are equal, enjoy their freedom and innate human dignity.