QUMBU- Justice Cecil Mpho Somyalo, a key figure in transforming South Africa’s judiciary has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by Nelson Mandela University(NMU).
From humble beginnings in Qumbu to leadership of the Eastern Cape High Court, his career spans more than four decades of legal service and institutional reform.
Somyalo’s introduction to the law came not through formal study but as a schoolboy in the 1950s, when he spent his holidays interpreting for a local attorney in his village without pay.
The experience, he later reflected, sparked a lasting fascination with the law and its role in safeguarding dignity. After completing his studies at University of Fort Hare, he began his professional life as a teacher before pursuing legal qualifications through University of South Africa.
Admitted as an attorney in 1971, he went on to practise in Gqeberha for more than 20 years, serving communities during one of the country’s most turbulent periods.
Furthermore, his appointment to the bench in 1995 marked a significant shift in South Africa’s legal landscape. Somyalo became the first attorney to be permanently appointed as a judge, breaking with a long-standing tradition that favoured advocates.
He continued to break new ground in 1997 when he was appointed the first black Judge President of the Transkei Division of the High Court. Two years later, he assumed leadership of the Eastern Cape Division playing a central role in unifying a fragmented court system inherited from apartheid across Makhanda, Bhisho and Mthatha.
In 2001, Somyalo served two terms as an acting justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, contributing to the development of constitutional jurisprudence in the early years of democracy.
In addition beyond his institutional contributions, Somyalo has been widely recognised for his firm ethical stance. He has often emphasised that integrity remains the cornerstone of legal practice, shaped by experiences early in his career that tested his moral judgement.
Addressing graduates at the conferment ceremony, he urged young legal practitioners to think beyond traditional boundaries and to recognise the global relevance of South Africa’s legal education.
In conferring the honorary doctorate, Nelson Mandela University acknowledged not only Somyalo’s professional achievements but also his role in advancing judicial transformation and upholding the principles of fairness and accountability.Somyalo said he accepted the honour with humility and a continued commitment to the values that have guided his career.
Photographs: Supplied/NMU
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