Judge Taswell Papier, Western Cape High Court Judge, Speaks About Apartheid

This year’s Kageyama-Hunt Lecture Series brought us a virtual visit from South Africa Judge Taswell Papier, who in 2017 was appointed to the Western Cape High Court. Having grown up during apartheid, experiencing racism and violence, Judge Papier has dedicated his career to eradicating an unjust system. As a human rights lawyer, he became renowned for his pro bono work. In 2006, he was awarded the UK Global Lawyer of the Year Award, a first for Africa. In 2014, while at ENSafrica, the largest law firm in Africa, he was inducted as a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in Boston. He attended Harvard Law School, where he and David Wilkins (a Belmont Hill parent of an alumnus and a former trustee) became connected. Professor Wilkins was in Chapel to moderate the discussion.

The Kageyama-Hunt Lecture Series, established in 2012 by Belmont Hill parents Bill and Yuko Hunt, brings speakers to campus who model global citizenship and can inspire generations of Belmont Hill boys to embrace the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world.

In closing his talk, Judge Papier referenced the National Anthem of South Africa. The anthem was adopted in 1997 and is a hybrid song combining new English lyrics with extracts of the 19th century hymn "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" and the Afrikaans song "Die Stem van Suid-Afrika," which was used as the South African national anthem during the apartheid era. Koame Kota, an exchange student in Form IV visiting from South Africa, beautifully sang the anthem to close the program and received a rousing standing ovation from his classmates. Koame is a student at Bishops Diocesan College (Cape Town, South Africa).

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