As South Africa approaches three decades under its democratic Constitution, the question of how far the country has come in realising its promise of equality, dignity, and justice remains important. While the Constitution provides a foundation for protecting human rights, persistent inequality and barriers to justice continue to raise questions about how these rights are experienced in people’s everyday lives.
Justice Molemela called for a closer examination of the relationship between constitutional promises and people’s lived realities, reminding the audience that “the pursuit of justice did not end with the adoption of the Constitution”. Her address, together with Adv De Vos’s response, considered what Fischer’s legacy demands of the legal profession, public institutions, and society today.
Justice must reach beyond the Constitution
Born in Bloemfontein in 1908,
Fischer grew up in a prominent Afrikaner family but chose to oppose apartheid, putting his career and freedom at risk in the struggle against racial oppression. Justice Molemela situated his activism within wider international movements for civil rights and African liberation, showing how his commitment to justice connected South Africa’s struggle with efforts to challenge oppression elsewhere in the world.
His legacy, she argued, remains relevant because the end of apartheid did not automatically resolve the inequalities it created. The Constitution established fundamental rights, but their promise depends on whether people can exercise them and experience meaningful improvements in their lives. “While we understand that we must not be captive to the past, there must be no disconnect between the Constitution and the lived reality of the people, for the true measure of a constitutional democracy lies in that reality and the practical realisation of human rights,” she said.
Building on this argument, Adv De Vos challenged the legal profession to examine how established assumptions and practices can sustain inequality, even when individuals support transformation. Drawing on her experience in constitutional litigation, she highlighted the importance of questioning how legal decisions affect people whose circumstances may be overlooked when cases are considered primarily through established legal categories.
Her discussion included Grobler v Phillips and Others, a case involving an elderly woman who faced eviction from a property where she had lived for decades. The case raised difficult questions about how the law considers a person’s circumstances, history, and connection to their home. It illustrated De Vos’s broader argument that changing the legal system requires more than changing who occupies positions of authority. It also requires examining the assumptions that influence how the law is interpreted and applied.
Justice Molemela similarly emphasised that advancing justice is not the responsibility of the judiciary alone. While courts play an important role in interpreting and upholding the Constitution, their work depends partly on the cases brought before them, and the ability of people to understand and assert their rights.
She called on legal practitioners to help communities understand court judgments, particularly those affecting their social and economic circumstances, and encouraged citizens to take an active role in public life. “Because the Constitution is not self-executing, I cannot over-emphasise the importance of active citizenry,” she said.
Prof Hester C. Klopper, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the UFS, connected these responsibilities to the role of higher education. Reflecting on Fischer’s willingness to question the system into which he was born, she challenged universities to prepare graduates to think critically about the world around them. “Our responsibility is to prepare graduates with the depth of knowledge, independence of thought, and quality of judgement they will need in institutions and circumstances we cannot fully anticipate,” she said.
Her remarks reinforced the importance of education that equips people not only with professional knowledge but also with the judgement to recognise when established practices need to change.
For Justice Molemela, the enduring significance of Fischer’s life lies in ensuring that the principles he defended continue to reach those who remain vulnerable to exclusion. “The greatest tribute we can pay Bram is to ensure that constitutional justice reaches every person whom he devoted his life to serving,” she said.
A decade of advancing human rights
The lecture also marked ten years of the Free State Centre for Human Rights, recognising a decade of work to advance human rights through research, education, advocacy, and legal practice.
Established in the Faculty of Law, the Centre has grown from a small team into a multidisciplinary community of academics, researchers, legal practitioners, and support staff. Its work brings together scholarship and practical interventions, addressing human rights questions through research, public engagement, and legal action.
The Centre’s contribution is reflected in its research output, which has averaged 26 scholarly
publications annually over the past five years, alongside six
books edited or co-edited during that period. Its work also extends into communities and courtrooms, where human rights concerns often have direct consequences for people’s homes, livelihoods, and access to essential services.
Through its
Impact Litigation Unit, the Centre pursues cases involving public interest and the protection of rights. One of its active matters involves opposition to an eviction affecting more than 5 000 people, illustrating the scale of the human consequences that can be at stake in legal disputes. Its
advocacy programme complements this work by helping students and communities understand their rights and engage with issues affecting them.
Together, these activities demonstrate how the Centre connects academic research with the practical challenges of protecting human dignity and addressing inequality.
Reflecting on the Centre’s growth, Director
Prof Danie Brand cautioned against measuring its contribution through numbers alone. “These figures tell very little about the place and space the centre has become: a vibrant community of people committed to achieving transformation through human rights and actively working towards that goal,” he said.
His reflection placed the emphasis on the people and shared purpose behind the Centre’s work. Its first decade has involved building an environment in which research, education, advocacy, and legal practice inform one another, with the aim of making human rights meaningful beyond academic and legal spaces.
Prof Brand also drew on the words of former Constitutional Court Justice Johan Froneman in Daniels v Scribante. “The values of the Constitution are not only aimed at the past and the present, but also the future,” Prof Brand quoted.
As the Centre enters its second decade, its work remains closely connected to the questions raised during the memorial lecture: how to make human rights meaningful, how to challenge persistent inequality, and how to ensure that institutions remain accountable to the people they serve.
The lecture and anniversary brought these responsibilities together in a shared reflection on Fischer’s legacy. Remembering his contribution means more than looking back at the sacrifices he made. It means continuing the work of ensuring that the rights and freedoms for which he fought are experienced in the lives of ordinary South Africans.
Read more about the Centre’s work from 2016 to 2026
here.