WATCH | Why Ngcukaitobi shone in SA vs Israel case over Gaza war at international court

Representation matters was the key sentiment when the world watched advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi and five other South African lawyers take the spotlight to argue at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday in the country’s application for a ceasefire in the Gaza war which has claimed thousands of civilian lives.

South Africa applied to the world court sitting in The Hague, Netherlands to make an order for the suspension of military operations in Gaza to stop killings, arguing that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinian people after the attacks by Hamas in Israel on October 7 2023. 

While the six South African lawyers’ names and faces dominated international headlines on Thursday, Ngcukaitobi topped social media charts, with some legal practitioners commenting that he tackled one of the most challenging aspects of the case.

The advocate specialising in constitutional law argued that Israel’s armed forces had genocidal intent to not only kill the Hamas group but Palestinians living in Gaza.  Ngcukaitobi played videos and quoted comments by Israeli political and defence leaders.

“The minister of energy and infrastructure Israel Katz called for the denial of water and fuel as ‘this is what will happen to a people of children killers and slaughterers’. This admits no ambiguity: it means to create conditions of death for the Palestinian people in Gaza. To die a slow death because of starvation and dehydration or to die quickly because of a bomb attack or snipers. But to die, nevertheless. In fact, heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu said Israel ‘must find ways for Gazans that are more painful than death’,” Ngcukaitobi told the world court. 

Legal commentator advocate James Grant said Ngcukaitobi took on “difficult” elements of the case.

“On behalf of South Africa, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC has perhaps the most difficult task to persuade the court that the acts of Israel are intended to be genocidal. He argues it has been exceptional in this case that genocidal utterances are expressed throughout the Israeli government, and are embodied in state policy through to soldiers. He has reminded the ICJ that the sentiment that there are no innocents and that everyone, man, woman, children and babies, and everything (including animals) must be killed, have been expressed from the highest ranks of the Israeli government to soldiers on the ground,” Grant said.

Lawyer and human rights activist Nicole Fritz believed that aside from Ngcukaitobi addressing one of the most challenging aspects of the genocide charge, his voice in the fight against “systematic dehumanisation” was powerful as he was born during apartheid in South Africa when African people were treated in dehumanising manners and regarded merely as servants of white people.

“While this hearing is about seeking to persuade the court as to the cogency of South Africa’s arguments, you can’t dismiss the importance of law as theatre. Tembeka is one of South Africa’s foremost advocates for his evident skill but there can be no denying the power of having a black South African address the world’s highest court on the effects of systematic dehumanisation, of looking to characterise those who are oppressed as ‘animals’,” she said.

South African born author Zakes Mda, in his admiration of Ngcukaitoibi, wrote: “Rewatching Tembeka Ngcukaitobi at The Hague. I think what makes him such a great lawyer is that he is very human, with human feelings and human emotions.”

Ngcukaitobi comes from humble beginnings. He was raised in rural Eastern Cape in Cala and obtained his undergrad law degree not in a top-ranked institution. The foundation of his legal career was laid at the University of Transkei, (Unitra) which later became Walter Sisulu University. 

Ngcukaitobi has described his time at the institution surrounded by rural and impoverished communities as one that sparked his political activism. He was involved in student politics and served as student representative council president while at Unitra. The advocate moved to attain Master of law degrees at the University of Rhodes in Grahamstown and London School of Economics. Many people who admired Ngcukaitobi on social media alluded to feeling represented and uplifted as Africans by his achievements.

Ngcukaitobi is no stranger to the spotlight. For years he has taken on high-profile political cases. He represented the EFF for former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s state capture report to be released during Jacob Zuma’s presidency and won. He was initially called “the EFF lawyer” but has also represented other political figures, including  President Cyril Ramaphosa in his case against former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane over election campaign funding.

Here are some highlights from the court hearing and reactions on social media:

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