Last week two things moved me very deeply. First, Constitutional Court Justice Edwin Cameron retired. Cameron was and remains a legal giant who fought throughout his life for justice and human rights. What struck me among the many tributes paid to him was the emphasis on his gentle kindness, humanity and humility.

By coincidence on the same night I watched a film about the life of Bram Fischer. Fischer was of course one of the advocates who represented the accused in the Rivonia trial. After he, George Bizos and Joel Joffe succeeded in preventing the death penalty for Madiba and the other accused, Fischer was arrested, tried and sentenced to life imprisonment…