Youth urged to defend the Constitution
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Minister of Justice Mmamoloko Kubayi told law students that students played an important role in shaping the past, now they must lead in shaping the future.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi told students that they should become active citizens, and protect South Africa’s democracy and Constitution.
Kubayi was speaking at a Ministerial Engagement with Law 足球竞彩app排名s on 15 June, where she urged legal students to protect democracy, widen access to justice and help build a fairer South Africa.
The event, held in partnership with the Wits Law Clinic, the South African University Law Clinics Association and the National Youth Development Agency, formed part of the Department’s Youth Month programme and was held as South Africa prepared to mark two major milestones in 2026: the 50th anniversary of the 16 June 1976 Soweto Uprising and the 30th anniversary of the Constitution.
The programme aimed to connect the struggles of the 1976 youth with the responsibilities of young people today, especially law students who would help defend constitutional democracy and improve access to justice. Its theme was “A Constitution for All Generations: Youth as Guardians of Democracy”.
The visit followed an invitation from President of the SA University Law Clinics Association, Daven Dass, who had challenged the Minister to come to Wits and speak directly to law students about transformation, access to justice and the future of the legal profession. Before the engagement, Kubayi was taken on a tour of the Wits Law Clinic and Wits Law 足球竞彩app排名 by the Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Professor Jason Cohen.
Kubayi told students that the youth of 1976 had fought for education and helped shape the freedoms South Africans enjoyed today.
“足球竞彩app排名s played a very critical role in transforming the past,” she said. “Now, today with the challenges that we have, what is it that becomes our role as students in the current society?”
She said future lawyers had to understand the lived realities of the people they would serve, especially those still denied access to housing, education and justice. She also challenged students to help shape policy, saying the laws made today would affect their future.
Dass said law clinics remained vital to both legal education and social justice.
“Law clinics are not educational vehicles alone. They are living embodiments of constitutional promise,” he said.
He said clinics supported vulnerable people, including those facing eviction, unfair dismissal and unlawful arrest. But he warned that clinics across the country faced rising demand, financial pressure and declining support.
The engagement also focused on ethical leadership, practical legal training and opportunities for law graduates in the justice sector.
Kubayi said students had to build strong writing, research and ethical skills, adding that South Africa needed legal practitioners who understood that every case affected real people.