Programme director 
The De Kock family
National director of Public Prosecutions, Adv Batohi
Heads of Institutions in the JCPS Cluster
Senior Members of the NPA
Representatives of the legal fraternity
Ladies and gentlemen

Good Morning
Let me start by expressing my sincere condolences to the De Kock family and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) team on the loss of a family member and colleague. Having recently lost a loved one to cancer, I know the recent months cannot have been easy for all those who were close to him. The pain of losing a loved one is deep and extremely stressful but with time it gets easier. His death is not only a loss for you as a family but a loss for the country as a whole. Rodney’s death has robbed our country of an outstanding prosecutor and a Patriot

Advocate De Kock’s untimely death has come at a time when his country needed him the most. It is has become difficult to find men and women of Advocate De Kock caliber in the public service. I am speaking about men and women of high ethical standards and integrity who are willing to take the road less travelled.

Taking the road less travelled is precisely what Rodney did in the years of state capture. At a time when doing the right thing seemed out of the norm and unpopular, Rodney stood up in defense of our democracy. For that he deserves our gratitude, admiration and praise. Our country owes the man we are celebrating his life today a great debt.

Not so long ago, because of state capture, our young democracy was characterized by turbulence that almost destroyed critical institutions especially the criminal Justice system.  The rot that seeped into the fabric of our country would not have been possible without the weakening of the institutions in the criminal justice system.

A concerted effort was put on ensuring critical institutions in the criminal justice became dysfunctional amongst, which the National Prosecuting Authority was one. Although the system was weakened there were men and women who stood firm and never allowed themselves to cower under the weight widespread wrongdoing and Advocate De Kock was one of those individuals. Because of him and others like him the system was weakened but it was never broken and was never destroyed hence today we can talk about rebuilding the institutions.

Advocate De Kock trajectory as a law practitioner which included being a director of the Legal Aid Board Clinic at the University of Cape Town from 1994 to 1999, is a demonstration of a man ‘who refused to be neutral in a situation of injustice’.

Instead of pursuing wealth and individual professional success, he chose to train candidate attorneys, represented the poor and the indigent and those who were denied access to justice because of their social class.

He understood that for our democracy to stand the test of time there has to be few men and women who are the embodiment of the spirit of public service who are motivated by the idea of serving the greater good.

The only way that we can truly honor Rodney’s legacy is by ensuring that the work of building a fair and effective national prosecuting authority continues uninterrupted. A lot of work has already been done to restore confidence in the work of the NPA and on the institution itself.

There is more work that lies ahead. It is not easy to rebuild an institution whose proper functioning threatens to disrupt the lives of those who are rich and powerful. It requires men and women who are willing to stand for what is right in the face of the most unrelenting attacks.

We have seen what can happen to a country and its institutions if powerful interests in society, whoever they may be, are allowed to capture the state or its key institutions. During the years of state capture there was one law for ordinary people and one law for people in important positions, or one law for the rich and one law for the poor.  

Our fight against state capture must not translate into replacing one capture by another more sinister capture. Because if we allow this to happen our democracy might not survive. It is our responsibility to ensure that it never happens and in honour of Adv De Kock I call on all colleagues in NPA to be exemplary in Society including through their personal lifestyles that resembles individuals with high moral and ethical standing in Society

It was Malcolm X who said "I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."

What Malcom X was telling us was that a just society is the one in which there is equality before the law. 

A just society is one in which our courts are the great leveller and the rich and poor are created equal. By working hard to strengthen the NPA, advocate De Kock was demonstrating his firm belief in the courts as the great leveller and like Malcolm X he was for justice no matter who it was for or against. He was a human being and he was for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.

The Freedom Charter which inspired the drafting of our constitution envisioned a society in which all shall be equal before the law. It is this vision that inspired Rodney’s work as legal practitioner, and it is the vision that must continue to inspire our efforts of rebuilding the integrity and confidence of the NPA and by extension the criminal justice system.

We thank the De Kock family for giving us their beloved father, son, and brother to serve our country a task in which he acquitted himself with distinction. His legacy will continue to serve as an inspiration to all us.

Let me again express my deepest condolences for the loss you have suffered as a family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

I thank you