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President Cyril Ramaphosa described George Bizos as one of the best legal minds in South Africa who had contributed immensely to the achievement of democracy.
Bad Adviser, Gallo Images, The Times
- George Bizos died peacefully at his home on Wednesday.
- He is remembered as one of the key lawyers who represented anti-apartheid activists in political trials.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorized the flags to fly at half mast in all stations until the night of Bizos’s funeral on Thursday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a special official funeral for the late human rights lawyer George Bizos.
The president has also authorized the national flag to be hoisted at half mast at all stations in the country from Saturday until Thursday night of the funeral.
Bizos died at his home of natural causes at age 92 on Wednesday.
He was born in Kirani, Greece and moved to South Africa with his father in 1941.
The anti-apartheid lawyer represented several supporters of the struggle during the Rivonia trial, including the late former President Nelson Mandela.
READ | ‘A huge tree of justice has fallen’: Pan-African Bar Association pays tribute to George Bizos
He also represented Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki.
Ramaphosa described Bizos as one of South Africa’s best legal minds who had contributed immensely to the achievement of democracy.
“George Bizos was a household name and had an incisive legal mind and he was also one of the architects of our Constitution who contributed immensely and we will deeply miss him. We bow our heads in honor of the contribution he made to our democracy,” he said.
Tributes have been pouring in since news of his death on Wednesday.
WRAP | Selfless, generous, larger than life: SA mourns legal titan George Bizos
The Legal Resource Center congratulated Bizos for his contribution to the center’s ongoing work.
He was also hailed for his role as a mentor to many within the legal profession, inside and outside the LRC.
Graca Machel, the widow of his longtime friend Mandela, also paid tribute to Bizos on Thursday, saying he was “the last of Madiba’s closest friends to leave.”
Machel described Bizos as her imposing older brother, friend, and barometer who had guided her through her darkest moments.
