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Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi addresses a Ministerial Engagement with legal practitioners in Pretoria on 20 April 2026.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has acknowledged that black legal practitioners continue to be sidelined and denied business opportunities with government as compared to their white counterparts.
This emerged during a dialogue of legal practitioners and the Minister, together with Deputy Minister Andries Nel, in Pretoria.
The dialogue is part of an ongoing efforts to strengthen collaboration and advance transformation within the legal sector.
Disgruntled legal practitioners have accused the state attorney’s office of giving business opportunities to white owned legal firms and ignoring black owned legal firms.
Kubayi says this must be rectified. “There are still many barriers that restrict the careers of talented black and female lawyers, including racist treatment, sexual harassment and briefing patterns which give preference to white men. It’s still a reality because the barriers and briefing patterns both at the bar and at firms tend to prefer a small selection of black lawyers and larger selection of white men. This is a culture that develops due to reluctance to brief outside one’s race and or and also due to client demands. Because even our own black mothers sometimes when they get briefs, they don’t go for black sisters – it’s a reality.”
Meanwhile, Nel has highlighted the importance of defending the country’s constitution. Nel says the people’s right to access basic services is enshrined in the constitution.
“We must defend and advance the constitution and the institutions of our constitutional democracy and ensure that they work for all South Africans. We must defend and advance the rights of workers, the unemployed, the informal sector, small businesses, professions including the legal profession, farmers and the middle class. We must defend and advance the quality basic services and the expansion of housing, education, health care, and many other basic services, but also access to justice for millions of South Africans.”
(IN PICTURES 📸) MINISTERIAL STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WITH LEGAL PRACTITIONERS IN📍PRETORIA.#legalsectorengagement #FreedomMonth2026 #GovZAUpdates #30yearsoftheconstitution #AccessToJusticeForAll pic.twitter.com/59D0gsHcyZ
— The DoJ & CD (@DOJCD_ZA) April 20, 2026
