The Free State Centre for Human Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted the fourth Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture, featuring two leading African scholars, Prof Issa Shivji from the University of Dar es Salaam and Prof Tshepo Madlingozi from the South African Human Rights Commission. 

The event, held on 13 October 2025, brought together the university leadership, academics, and students for an evening of reflection on the enduring relevance of justice, truth, and public intellectualism in contemporary society.

Prof Shivji, Professor Emeritus at the University of Dar es Salaam and inaugural holder of the Julius Nyerere Professorial Chair in Pan-African Studies, is one of Africa’s most influential voices in law and human rights. He has published widely, including the book The Concept of Human Rights in Africa and the three-volume biography Development as Rebellion, and chaired the landmark 1991 Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters in Tanzania. 

Prof Madlingozi, who delivered the formal response, is a South African scholar and activist in jurisprudence, critical race theory, and decolonial legal studies. Appointed Commissioner at the South African Human Rights Commission in 2024, he oversees the portfolios of Anti-Racism, Education, and Equality, and is a former Director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The annual Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture honours the life and legacy of Bram Fischer, born in Bloemfontein in 1908, whose lifelong devotion to justice and equality continues to inspire generations. Fischer’s connection to UFS runs deep. His grandfather, Abraham Fischer, was Prime Minister of the Orange River Colony and namesake of the university’s first residence, while his father, Advocate Percy Fischer, established the institution’s first Faculty of Law at the former Grey University College. 

In her welcoming address, Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Hester C. Klopper described Fischer as a figure of “unwavering moral courage” whose values continue to shape the university’s mission. “True commitment to principle sometimes requires us to chart new paths, even when they lead through difficulty,” she said.

A call for courage, truth, and public responsibility

In his lecture, Prof Shivji reflected on the moral and intellectual challenges facing public intellectuals in a time when truth itself is under threat. Drawing from Fischer’s life and convictions, he explored what he called “the crisis of the commitment of the public intellectual”, a challenge that extends beyond individuals to include universities and institutions that shape public thought. He discussed the decline of universities as spaces for critical debate, the influence of neoliberalism on higher education, and the weakening of human rights discourse in a global context defined by selective morality.

According to Prof Shivji, the public intellectual must, like Fischer, act from a place of moral conviction and public duty even in times of uncertainty. “The vocation of the organic intellectual today,” he said, “is to rise above parochialism and nationalism and to commit to a pan-African struggle for human dignity and equality.” His lecture urged African universities to reclaim their moral and intellectual voice as guardians of truth and spaces of dissent, ideals that deeply resonate with the University of the Free State’s own academic vision.

Responding to Prof Shivji’s address, Prof Madlingozi underlined both the urgency of the message and the challenge it poses to the university community. He reflected on the crises that Shivji outlined – the crisis of the nation state, of neoliberalism, of human rights, of public intellectualism, and of truth – and drew parallels to South Africa’s current realities. He observed that the country finds itself “in a deep crisis, a crisis of a dysfunctional state”, which calls for renewed courage and agency from its scholars and citizens. He urged academics to speak out and to move beyond passive citizenship towards a form of public intellectualism that is disruptive, challenging, and humble. 

Prof Madlingozi also highlighted the crucial role universities, and particularly the Faculty of Law, can play in confronting these crises – by cultivating spaces of critical thought and civic engagement.

Carrying forward Bram Fischer’s vision

Prof Danie Brand, Director of the Free State Centre for Human Rights, said the Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture is not only an intellectual event but also a reaffirmation of purpose. “Bram Fischer exemplifies the kind of critical approach to human rights that we espouse at the centre – that human rights are legal mechanisms through which we work toward an emancipated, egalitarian, just future.” 

He noted that public lectures such as this remind both the faculty and the centre that education and advocacy are grounded in context, creating opportunities for exposure to new ideas and perspectives.

Echoing this sentiment, Prof Klopper reflected on Fischer’s courage in confronting injustice, and the responsibility that places on institutions today. She said the values of moral courage, justice, and responsible societal futures continue to guide the University of the Free State’s transformation journey. Through the ongoing partnership between the Faculty of Law and the Free State Centre for Human Rights, the university continues to advance the vision that defined Fischer’s life – to use knowledge in the service of justice and human dignity.