Through his unwavering commitment to addressing historical race-based imbalances in economic participation, the late Lutendo Sigogo had come to personify transformation. His untimely death at his prime is a huge loss to the country.
While in some quarters of society, the legitimacy of the country’s economic transformation is subject to a never-ending debate, one person who had been unequivocally and fiercely defending the moral objectives of what the initiative aims to achieve was the late Lutendo Sigogo. His untimely loss at the age of 48, has robbed the country of an asset that was needed to give transformation a legal impetus, at a time when the general feeling is that transformation has either been moving at a snail’s pace or has stalled.
Sigogo was a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the President of the Black Lawyers Association – two roles he juggled dexterously.
In the former, Sigogoo was a part of an entity that provided oversight to the public legal institutions to ensure that the law applied equitably in line with the country’s institutions. As a commissioner, a position he had served for two years, he was responsible for interviewing and shortlisting judge candidates.
As part of the latter, Sigogo was at the forefront of advocating for black lawyers to be part of the country’s legal profession, an area where there has been a sentiment that the pace of transformation has been slow.
It is Sigogo’s role at the coalface of transformation that the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, highlights. ” We have lost [a] dedicated champion of transformation. His contributions will undoubtedly form the pillars of a representative and accessible service to our people. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved family during this period of mourning.”
The JSC, still absorbing the reality of the loss of their invaluable human resource, describes Sigogo as: “A true leader in the legal profession”. “Death has truly robbed the people of South Africa of not just a practitioner, but a true leader in the legal profession. That Mr Sigogo was a leader is illustrated by the various leadership positions he held in various legal bodies,” the commission lauds him posthumously.
Sigogo was appointed to the JSC by the president of the Republic of SA in July 2019 as one of the two members representing the attorneys’ profession. He was not only a member of the JSC but also a member of the screening committee of the JSC tasked with the compilation of a shortlist of candidates to be interviewed by the JSC.
Sigogo obtained B Proc, LLB and LLM degrees from the universities of Venda and Limpopo in 1994, 1996 and 2001 respectively. He started his legal career as a candidate attorney in 1995 to 1997. Following his admission as an attorney, he served as a professional assistant in the law firm, Khathu Mulovhedzi for six months. In 1999 he became a director of Mathobo, Rambau and Sigogo Incorporated, a position that he held until he met his untimely death.
Rest in peace son of the soil!
