"We wanted to show our gratitude to the entire team who represented South Africa and the Palestinian people with such grace and dignity," says Umayya Theba
Tembeka Ngcukaitobi was caught off guard by the reception he received when he entered the arrival hall at OR Tambo International airport on Sunday. The popular advocate was returning from presenting South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
The slightly startled Ngcukaitobi was greeted by hundreds of people who had gathered, waiting for members of South Africa's legal team.
Some held up posters describing the legal team as heroes. Others rushed to Ngcukaitobi, hugging him, thanking him and handing him flowers. With Ngcukaitobi were some of the junior members of the legal team as well as Doc Mashabane, Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, and Chrispin Phiri, the spokesperson for the Minister of Justice.
Ngcukaitobi said that the real inspiration was the people of Palestine
The rest of the legal team arrived at different times in different places with Ngcukaitobi the only senior member of the legal team to arrive in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Umayya Theba, a member of South African Friends of Palestine, said: "We wanted to show our gratitude to the entire team who represented South Africa and the Palestinian people with such grace and dignity. We are proud of them for taking a stand against the genocidal regime of Israel and we are hoping for a favourable outcome at the court."
Speaking to the media after arriving, Ngcukaitobi said that the real inspiration was the people of Palestine. "People think that lawyers are important in society. Maybe they are, maybe they are not. But it has been an inspirational experience because the effort that has gone into resisting injustice to the Palestinian people is in itself a source of great inspiration. Our own ability to speak in court is not as significant as the struggles of the people on the ground," he said.
He stressed that the case lodged by South Africa at the ICJ was just one stage in the struggle to free Palestinians from Israeli occupation. "We have been very humbled that we have been able to contribute a very small part to an otherwise long and courageous struggle of the Palestinian people," said Ngcukaitobi.
Mashabane said: "There are people now starting to ask how much this case is costing us. When we reached out to these lawyers they said look, it's not about how much you are going to pay us. ... They said we are not interested in discussing money; we want to do the work and serve humanity."
