Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has likened the passing of human rights icon George Bizos to the falling of a great tree.
Ramaphosa has been speaking at the human rights lawyer’s special official funeral.
Tributes for the anti-apartheid activist have poured in since his passing at his Johannesburg home last week.
Mourners took up precisely spaced out seats in the Hellenic Cultural Centre for Bizos’ special official funeral service.
The president paid tribute to Bizos, saying the lawyer inspired an entire generation to follow in his footsteps.
“He was, in his own words, a lover of freedom. His love for freedom will put him on an inevitable collision course with the apartheid state. He was destined to be an activist lawyer and a champion of the liberation struggle,” said Ramaphosa.
Former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke remembered Bizos’ commitment to fighting injustice and inequality.
“When it was not fashionable, particularly to white South Africans, George Bizos chose the side of the powerless, of the tormented and the oppressed,” said the Chief Justice.
Bizos will be laid to rest at Johannesburg’s West Park Cemetery.
