The University of the Witwatersrand said it would honour its chancellor‚ retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke‚ for his contribution to the South African judiciary and his legacy on and off the bench.

Moseneke retired from the bench on Friday during a ceremony held at the Constitutional Court.

Moseneke has been Wits University chancellor since 2006. He first became a Constitutional Court judge in 2002 before being appointed Deputy Chief Justice in June 2005.

Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Adam Habib said Moseneke’s service to the nation had been second to none.

Also read: Moseneke tells of his journey from ‘convicted terrorist’ to ‘lawyer of unfailing integrity’

“He is one of our country’s most eminent judges and his legal authority‚ intellectual integrity and personal calibre has had a deep impact on the judiciary and other entities beyond the walls of our courts‚” Habib said.

Habib said Moseneke was one of the best legal minds the country had seen.

“He has had a profound influence on transforming the South African judiciary and played a key role in supporting efforts to transform the higher education sector.

“We sincerely hope that in his well-deserved retirement‚ our Chancellor will continue to contribute to Wits’ efforts to realise a truly transformed education sector in the near future.”

Habib said Wits was inspired by his resilience and dedication to obtain an education amidst unthinkable obstacles.

“Despite being arrested by the apartheid government at the age of 15 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on Robben Island‚ Moseneke studied and matriculated in prison and obtained a BA degree in English and Political Science‚ as well as a B Luris degree. He later completed an LLB.”

Wits said it would announce its plans for honouring Moseneke in the near future.