Misplaced Pages

#778221

59-506: Notable alumni include former Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron , anti-Apartheid activist Beyers Naudé , business leaders such as Christo Wiese , Michael Jordaan , Paul Harris , and Whitey Basson , and rugby legends such as Doc Danie Craven , Morné du Plessis , and Schalk Brits . Die Plek was originally a farmhouse completed in 1799 in the British colony . It was known as

118-681: A Rhodes Scholar . There he switched to law and earned a BA in Jurisprudence and the Bachelor of Civil Law , winning the Vinerian Scholarship . When he returned to South Africa he completed an LLB at the University of South Africa and was its best law graduate. Cameron's early career combined academia and legal practice. In 1982, he famously wrote a scathing critique of the late Chief Justice L. C. Steyn , then

177-699: A "landmark" defence of free speech . Others, while acknowledging the judgment had departed importantly from apartheid -era law, said it should have gone further in protecting journalists. Cameron's position was substantially confirmed, in subsequent cases, by the Supreme Court of Appeal . In 1999, Cameron was given an acting stint on the Constitutional Court , during which he partook in its seminal judgments in Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Grootboom and wrote

236-401: A High Court judge. His salary allowed him to afford anti-retroviral treatment, which saved his life. Cameron's realisation that he owed his life to his relative wealth caused him to become a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in post- apartheid South Africa, urging its government to provide treatment to all. He has strongly criticised President Thabo Mbeki 's AIDS-denialist policies. Cameron was

295-467: A High Court judges' report which mentioned the results of the post-mortem of the body found in Bester's cell. This was confirmed by GroundUp editor, Nathan Geffen, in an editorial for News24. GroundUp later obtained post mortem results from public court documents. Cameron was a board member of GroundUp at the time, which is an unpaid position with no role in editorial decisions, and the editor Nathan Geffen

354-421: A barrier to behavior change, it remains a barrier to people accessing treatment." During the same speech, Cameron invited any sex workers present to join him on stage and indicated that sex work is "one of the most dangerous and despised occupations, and one that deserves our support and our respect and our love." He further stated "Sex workers are perhaps the most reviled group in human history - indispensable to

413-443: A charitable aspect, benefiting landmine victim organizations. Wilgenhof is also involved in other community projects, such as ‘coke and buns,’ where students donate their lunch to a night shelter weekly. Dr Craven served as Resident Head from 1967 until 1981, during which several changes occurred, including the construction of the 'slaweklok' ( slave bell ) and the renovation of various facilities. The centenary reunion in 2003 saw over

472-500: A cotton and tobacco plantation in Louisiana where he was enslaved from birth (circa 1845) until 1865 with over 100 men, women and children, described the use of the bells and horns to control the lives and labour of the enslaved people: ". .. you can hear a old bell donging way on some plantation a mile or two off, and den more bells at other places and maybe a horn... " " Bells and horns! Bells for dis and horns for dat! All we knowed

531-471: A darling of the apartheid establishment. And, in 1987, Cameron argued that three senior South African judges, including its former Chief Justice, Pierre Rabie , ought to resign to preserve the legitimacy of the judiciary. Cameron practised at the Johannesburg Bar from 1983 to 1994. From 1986 he was a human rights lawyer at Wits's Centre for Applied Legal Studies , where in 1989 he was awarded

590-621: A designation that remains fitting to this day. Following various ownership changes and functional transformations, Roelof Louw added a second floor in 1875. The name was changed to Willow Grove or simply The Willows , a name suggested by Louw’s wife. In 1902, Christiaan Marais acquired The Willows and significantly developed Wilgenhof starting in 1903. Wilgenhof was established as a residence for students from other parts of South Africa continuing their studies. The residence, initially accommodating 110 boarders, including Bachelors, saw its first Springbok rugby player, Bob Loubsher, in 1904. Notably, for

649-564: A judgment with Fritz Brand that held the state could be delictually liable for causing pure economic loss by fraud . On 31 December 2008 President Kgalema Motlanthe appointed Cameron to the Constitutional Court, taking effect from 1 January 2009. He was considered a crucial member of the Court's progressive wing. He has been described as a "jurist of the highest order", "the greatest legal mind of his generation" and "in

SECTION 10

#1732792995779

708-619: A league of his own". Cameron's judgment in Glenister v President , co-authored with Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke , struck down amendments to the National Prosecuting Act and South African Police Service Act on the basis that they failed to create an "adequately independent" anti-corruption unit. This was praised as an "imaginative" and "brilliant" judgment by commentators and means South Africa must have an independent corruption-fighting agency notwithstanding

767-723: A member of the Jury of the Red Ribbon Award, a partnership of the UNAIDS Family. He is the 2009–2010 winner of the Brudner Prize from Yale University , awarded annually to an accomplished scholar or activist whose work has made significant contributions to the understanding of LGBT issues or furthered the tolerance of LGBT people. In 2019, Cameron was awarded the Asijiki Award for Service and Humanity from

826-438: A period spanning from 1904 to 1949, every Springbok test match featured a Wilgenhoffer. Initiation practices for new residents commenced in 1906. Despite numerous changes in the initiation process and associated activities, the practice of initiation has remained a significant tradition at Wilgenhof. Tennis courts were built in 1906. Maintenance of these courts was initially the responsibility of newcomers and later taken over by

885-506: A personal professorship in law. Cameron's practice included labour and employment law; defence of African National Congress fighters charged with treason ; conscientious and religious objection; land tenure and forced removals; and gay and lesbian equality. In 1992 he became a co-author (with Tony Honoré , one of his mentors at Oxford) of Honoré's South African Law of Trusts . Cameron took silk in 1994. In October 1994, President Nelson Mandela appointed Cameron as an acting judge of

944-906: A portion of mostly heterosexual males in society, but despised, marginalized, persecuted, beaten up and imprisoned. Sex workers work. Their work is work with dignity." In July 2019, at a UNAIDS Press Conference, Cameron linked activism against criminalization, discrimination and stigma, to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 16 where he stated "Almost all countries have some form of criminal prohibition on sex work. [...] criminalization has severe consequences taking people outside of areas of protection. It declares [the criminalized group's] actions or identity illegitimate, and increases stigma. It excludes them from protections that our judicial, social and economic systems may provide. UNAIDS data indicates that criminalized groups often experience high rates of violence. If you suffer criminal violence and you yourself are criminalized, in most cases you simply cannot go to

1003-670: A range of solutions, including firmer institutional discipline and, in exceptional cases, the imposition of time limits on the start and finalisation of criminal trials. Cameron's awards include the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights (2000); Stellenbosch University 's Alumnus Award; Transnet's HIV/AIDS Champions Award; and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation Excellence in Leadership Award. In 2008 he served as

1062-429: A successful campaign, culminating in a 15,000-pound donation, half of which was contributed by the university. The new building, incorporating a new floor and wing, was inaugurated in 1964. In 1962, seventeen Wilgenhoffers embarked on the first Trans-Africa Tour, reaching as far north as Kilimanjaro. This tradition has continued with eight more tours having happened since, the most recent in 2022/23. The 2004 tour included

1121-549: A thousand former residents return to celebrate their time at Wilgenhof. On 22 January 2024, Stellenbosch University officials opened two locked rooms in the highly secretive Wilgenhof men's residence. They discovered and were revealed that week by News24 . However, this was not the first time that university officials had been informed of the goings on at the 120-year-old residence, where first years were forced to participate naked in abusive initiation rituals that would leave some traumatized for decades. Students told News24 that

1180-422: A vocal critic of the use of "Stalingrad" tactics in litigation. Stalingrad tactics involve "a well-resourced accused, over a protracted period, postponing or frustrating the trial process... by deploying every possible legal argument and stratagem to thwart the prosecution." Cameron has argued that these tactics harm the administration of justice and exacerbate overcrowding in the prison system. Cameron has proposed

1239-467: Is Holomisa v Argus Newspapers Ltd , where Bantu Holomisa had brought a defamation suit against The Star for alleging that he had been "directly involved" in the infiltration into South Africa of an Azanian People's Liberation Army "hit squad" aimed at "killing whites". Cameron's judgment was described as a "most rigorous exposition" of the Constitution 's application to private disputes and

SECTION 20

#1732792995779

1298-525: Is through the Constitution and the rule of law. Justice has been translated into Chinese, and has been published in translation in Korean and Italian . Cameron has been a staunch supporter of the full decriminalization of sex work . His advocacy and activism has sought to link criminalization, discrimination and stigma, and more recently how these link to Sustainable Development Goal 16. In 2008, at

1357-509: The 17th International AIDS Conference held in Mexico , Cameron called for a sustained and vocal campaign against HIV criminalization. At the 21st International Aids Conference , held in 2016 in Durban, South Africa, Cameron expanded on the call for decriminalization of HIV, stating "[t]he biggest problem is stigma. Stigma, stigma, stigma, stigma. Stigma remains a barrier to prevention, it remains

1416-682: The Asijiki Coalition , which advocates for the decriminalization of sex work in South Africa. In 2002 the Bar of England and Wales honoured him with a Special Award for his contribution to international jurisprudence and human rights . He is an honorary fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies , London , and Keble College, Oxford ; and was a visiting fellow of All Souls College, Oxford in 2003–04, researching "Aspects of

1475-562: The Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. In 2021 he was awarded the Order of the Baobab (Gold), South Africa's highest civilian honour, for his contribution to the judicial system, as well as his "tireless campaigning against the stigma of HIV and AIDS, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities". Cameron's critical role in

1534-480: The Havana Province . Large Cuban plantations often had several bells that were rung to control the activities of the enslaved people including regulating prayer time, meal times and to warn other plantations of slave rebellions . The 51m tower was built in 1848, it is constructed of stone and brick and has seven levels. In addition to housing the slave bells it was used as an observation tower from which

1593-719: The High Court to chair a commission of inquiry into illegal arms sales by Armscor , operating as the sales arm of the SANDF , to Yemen . Cameron's report was described as a "hard-hitting" critique of Armscor's conduct, but was quickly eclipsed by myriad other allegations about the South African government's illegal arms trades. Cameron was appointed permanently to the Witwatersrand Local Division in 1995. His best-known judgment in this capacity

1652-533: The Liquor Bill judgment on provincial legislative powers — the first, and still the only, case to be referred to the Court by the President of South Africa under section 79 of the Constitution . The Judicial Service Commission had recommended that Cameron be permanently appointed, but Sandile Ngcobo was ultimately preferred due to the late intercession of Thabo Mbeki , then Deputy President , who felt

1711-620: The West Bank Demerara , was found in the Demerara River in the 1950s. The bell initially installed outside the porter's lodge at St. Catharine's before it was moved to an accommodation block in 1994 where it was in a prominent position overlooking the centre of the college. In May 2019 the governing body and students of St Catharine’s College unanimously agreed that the bell should be removed view and would eventually be donated to Rijksmuseum , Amsterdam . In August 2019 it

1770-704: The abolition of slavery in the Cape they were continuously used during the apartheid regime in South Africa as an element of the Cape Dutch architectural style without recognition that they were symbols of oppression and suffering. In Cuba , on 10 October 1868, the slave bell at the La Demajagua sugar mill , in Manzanillo , was rung by the mill's owner Carlos Manuel de Céspedes to called assemble

1829-531: The "strafkamer" or punishment room at the residence contained horrifying pictures of alleged abuse of students. To quote ""The staff members had to break down the doors of these two rooms, and what they found was truly horrific." Which included KKK -black hoods, nudity , and midnight punishments . The Wilgenhof Alumni Association claimed that items found by the university formed part of the residence's history and could be misunderstood "if not explained in correct historical context". On 16 September 2024, News24 and

Wilgenhof - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-896: The AIDS Epidemic, examining in particular the denialist stance supported by SA President Mbeki ". In 2009 Cameron was appointed as an Honorary Master of the Bench of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple . Cameron is also an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016). He has seven honorary doctorates (King's College London (2008), Wits University (2009), University of Oxford (2011), University of St Andrews (2012), Stellenbosch University (2015), University of Sussex (2016) and Stetson University, Florida (2021). Cameron was, until 2015,

1947-530: The Adventures and Escape of Moses Roper, from American Slavery Moses Roper described the use of "iron horns, with bells, attached to the back of the slave's neck" several feet in height as an "instrument of torture". In the Dutch Cape Colony the slave bell had a distinctive architectural-style. It was usually a large bell hung from free-standing tall white pillars or in a white arch. After

2006-788: The Chamber of Mines. While at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, he co-drafted the Charter of Rights on AIDS and HIV, co-founded the AIDS Consortium (a national affiliation of non-governmental organizations working in AIDS), which he chaired for its first three years, and founded and was the first director of the AIDS Law Project. Cameron had himself contracted HIV in the 1980s and became extremely ill with AIDS when working as

2065-657: The Old Bachelors building. At that time, the road passed by the Old Bachelors building, as Ryneveld Street was not established until 1832. In 1832 , the Stellenbosch Spirit Association used the building as a distillery . The property was subsequently acquired by J.P. de Villiers in 1840, who renamed it Grossdale. The building was later known as 'Bosman se Stokery' (Bosman’s Distillery) or simply 'Die Stokery' (The Distillery ),

2124-595: The University announced that the university will be closed from the 2025 academic year where it would be changed, and reopened in 2026 under a new name. Edwin Cameron Edwin Cameron SCOB (born 15 February 1953 in Pretoria ) is a retired judge who served as a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa . He is well known for his HIV/AIDS and gay-rights activism and

2183-556: The Witwatersrand, which later became known as Activate Wits. 1995 saw the publication of Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa , "a celebration of the lives of gay men and lesbians in South Africa" which Cameron co-edited with Mark Gevisser . From 1988 Cameron advised the National Union of Mineworkers on HIV/AIDS , and helped draft and negotiate the industry's first comprehensive AIDS agreement with

2242-435: The appointee should be black. Cameron has said there is "no doubt" this was the correct decision. Cameron was instead appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal (at the same time as Mahomed Navsa and Robert Nugent ), where he served for eight years. There he wrote leading judgments on legal causation , hearsay evidence , public contracts and contempt of court . In Minister of Finance v Gore , Cameron co-authored

2301-590: The battle for access to antiretroviral treatment in Africa and other parts of the global south is portrayed in the award-winning documentary Fire in the Blood . Cameron was the subject of a complaint to the Judicial Service Commission, alleging that he had failed to declare a potential conflict of interest in relation to a case before the Constitutional Court. Cameron was approached in 2019 by

2360-531: The creation of Stellenbosch University . By 1920, administrative control of the residence was assumed by the house committee. Notably, the South African hurdles champion Arrie van Heerden, who was a resident at the time, participated in the Olympic Games in Antwerp that year. A significant event in 1924 was the rugby match between the "Rest of Stellenbosch" and "Hof der Wilgen". This match not only led to

2419-521: The creation of the residence's flag and badge but also its house song by Victor Potgieter. The victory, 12-9, marked the beginning of a distinguished rugby tradition at Wilgenhof, including winning the Sauer Trophy eight times. The Troebadoers, later renamed the Kraaie , emerged in 1934 as Wilgenhof’s first serenade group. In 1944, Hamelhof was constructed to house 17 senior Wilgenhoffers, while

Wilgenhof - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-660: The first time. The bell was returned to Manzanillo in November 1947 and was re-installed at La Demajagua in 1968. A bell, known as the Demerara Bell, was donated to St. Catharine's College, Cambridge in 1960 or 1961 by a former student Edward Arthur Goodland, who worked at Bookers Sugar Estates in British Guiana . The bell was inscribed ‘De Catharina 1772’ was from the Anna Catharina plantation on

2537-634: The first, and remains the only, senior South African official to state publicly that he is living with HIV/AIDS . His prize-winning first memoir, Witness to AIDS , is about his struggle with the illness. It has been published in South Africa, the UK, the US and in translation in Germany and in China. His second memoir, Justice: A Personal Account , urges that the best path forward to a more just society in South Africa

2596-609: The gay and lesbian movement's submissions to the drafters of the South African Constitution and was instrumental in securing the inclusion of an express prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation . He is one of 29 signatories to the Yogyakarta Principles . He also was a founding member of the Society for Homosexuals on Campus, a student organization at the University of

2655-894: The general secretary of the Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa and is a patron of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal . Between 1998 and 2008, Cameron chaired the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand . He has been an active and involved patron of the Guild Cottage Children's Home since 1997, and is also patron of the Soweto HIV/AIDS Counselors' Association and Community AIDS Response. In January 2020 he became

2714-487: The matron and staff remained in Bachelors. By 1981, under the new resident head Hennie de Vos, the seniors moved to Bachelors, a situation that persists to this day. Dr Danie Craven , a prominent figure in rugby , was named Visiting Head in 1949. At this time, the residence was in poor condition, prompting a fundraising campaign to save it from demolition. The 'Spirit of Willows,' a term coined by Oubaas Markotter, drove

2773-620: The people he enslaved to tell them that they are free and to invite them to join the fight for independence from Spain . This act is seen as the start of the Ten Years War . In 1947 the Demajagua bell was brought to the University of Havana by law student Fidel Castro and other anti-government demonstrators. When the bell was removed by the government, Castro protested against it on national radio, making his name widely known in Cuba for

2832-446: The plantation and could be used to surveillance the enslaved workers. In some cases, these structures have become a symbolic feature of the architectural style of that region and the architecture of plantation slavery. In South Africa, the pillars of the slave bell is a distinctive feature of the Cape Dutch architectural style . In a 1937 interview for WPA Slave Narrative project Charley Williams (b. 1843), who had lived and worked on

2891-593: The police." After he retired from the Constitutional Court, President Ramaphosa appointed him as Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services. The Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS) is an watchdog body created during the Mandela Presidency to inspect and report on conditions in prisons, with a view to safeguarding inmates' dignity.  Cameron has been active in advocating for reform of South Africa's penal and carceral system, as well as for greater independence of JICS. Cameron has been

2950-455: The public of Bester's escape, Cameron revealed that he had provided publicly available information relating to the matter to GroundUp , a public interest, not-for-profit news agency. Cameron indicated that he approached GroundUp after becoming frustrated with the slow pace of the investigations and lack of urgency to apprehend Bester. He provided GroundUp with a High Court interdict launched by Bester's alleged accomplice, Nandipha Magudumana, and

3009-423: The ruling ANC 's controversial disbanding of the Scorpions . Also well-known are Cameron's judgments on defamation law and free speech : Cameron retired on 20 August 2019, the 25th anniversary of his appointment to the bench. Cameron has been openly gay since the early 1980s. He addressed the crowd in the first pride parade in South Africa held in Johannesburg on 13 October 1990. Thereafter he oversaw

SECTION 50

#1732792995779

3068-424: The university in 1925. The courts were renovated in 2003, with notable contributions from Amanda Coetzer during their inauguration. Wilgenhof’s tradition of ‘Big Nights’ began in 1910, accompanied by structural and regulatory changes over the subsequent years. The residence was purchased by Victoria College (predecessor of Stellenbosch University) in 1916 for 6000 pounds, and it became university property in 1918 upon

3127-427: The vice chancellor of Stellenbosch University to offer him the position of university chancellor while a case was pending before the Court on the university's language policy. Cameron declined the offer and offered the parties full disclosure of all pertinent correspondence and contacts. The offer of disclosure was not taken up by either party until after the ruling on the matter, when the losing party belatedly sought and

3186-436: Was go and come by de bells and horns! " The slave bells were used by the enslaved to organise uprisings. In 1839 on Montalvo sugar plantation in the Matanzas Province, Cuba the plantation's slave bell at prayer time were used as a signal to attack the overseers and liberate themselves and others by fleeing into the woods. Bells were also used as a punishment and to prevent people from escaping. In his book A Narrative of

3245-522: Was granted access. The Court ruled unanimously in favour of Stellenbosch University in a judgment written by Cameron. The Judicial Service Commission dismissed the complaint against Cameron in 2020, finding that the complaint lacked substance. Cameron subsequently accepted and took up the post of Chancellor. In 2023, Cameron appeared before Parliament during enquiries into the May 2022 escape of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester . When DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach asked Cameron why JICS had not informed

3304-469: Was hailed by Nelson Mandela as "one of South Africa 's new heroes". President Ramaphosa appointed him as Inspecting Judge of Correctional Services from 1 January 2020 and in October 2019 he was elected Chancellor of Stellenbosch University. Cameron was born in Pretoria . His father was imprisoned for car theft and his mother did not have the means to support him. He therefore spent much of his childhood in an orphanage in Queenstown . His elder sister

3363-406: Was killed when Cameron was seven. Cameron won a scholarship to attend Pretoria Boys High School , one of South Africa's best state schools, and reinvented himself, he says, "in the guise of a clever schoolboy". Thereafter he went to Stellenbosch University , studying Latin and classics . While studying here, he resided at Wilgenhof Mens Residence . After this he attended Oxford University as

3422-531: Was one of his close friends. Cameron, E (2020). Comment and analysis: The crisis of criminal justice in South Africa. South African Crime Quarterly, 69: 1–15. Slave bell A Slave Bell is a bell that was rung to regulate the day on slave plantations and in slave societies. They were featured in slave plantations throughout the Americas and notably in the slavery systems in Cape Colony , present-day South Africa . The structures they were housed in, most often tall pillars and towers, became landmarks on

3481-471: Was reported that the Guyanese High Commissioner Frederick Hamley Case had persuaded the college to return the bell to Guyana . Iznaga Tower was the bell tower housing the slave bell of the Manaca sugar plantation in Valle de los Ingenios , in Trinidad, Cuba . It is an example of the bell towers that were a common feature on sugar plantations in Cuba, other notable examples are at Angerona and El Padre plantations located in present-day Cafetal del Padre in

#778221