Tributes for Prof Shadrack Gutto, who died aged 72

Constitutional law expert, author and political analyst Prof Shadrack Gutto's death in Johannesburg at the age of 72 has drawn many tributes, marking the impact he had on South African discourse.

“Though he was in poor health for much of the past decade, including bravely overcoming cancer”, his passing on October 13 was sudden and unexpected, his family said.

“We feel the loss deeply. Our father was a teacher, adviser, scholar and mentor”.

Shadrack Billy Otwori Gutto was the founding director of the Centre for African Renaissance Studies at Unisa, which described him as a public intellectual whose expertise included constitutional law, human rights, land reform and politics.

Principal and vice-chancellor Prof Puleng LenkaBula said he was “a magnanimous intellectual”.

“He was an internationally acclaimed scholar who taught at several institutions including Nairobi, Zimbabwe and Witwatersrand where he mentored scholars who became prominent in their fields of study,” LenkaBula said.

“His brilliance was also evident in his roles as consultant to many governments including the Organisation of African Unity. Perhaps his best project that left an imprint in the African continent was the Management of Democratic Elections in Africa. This is a project he was always passionate about until his death.”

Gutto published widely in local and international journals on legal and African and international topics, and was the author and editor of more than200 publications.

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola said Gutto significantly contributed to developing many policies, legislative instruments and institutional building mechanisms during the department's early years.

He served under several ministers of justice and constitutional development, including Dullah Omar, Penuel Maduna, Brigitte Mabandla and Enver Surty.

“The ministry remembers Prof Gutto as a passionate human rights advocate who provided invaluable advice to our ministers and senior management on transforming the justice sector. We remain indebted to him for his dedication and commitment to his historic contributions to South Africa's constitution-making process and the justice sector post-democracy.”

Here are some of the tributes shared on social media platforms:

TimesLIVE