Thokozile Masipa

Thokozile Matilda Masipa (born October 16, 1947 in Orlando East , now part of Soweto ) is a South African lawyer . It gained international attention when, as a judge, she sentenced the athlete Oscar Pistorius to five years imprisonment for negligent homicide .

Life

Masipa grew up in poor conditions as the oldest of ten children in Soweto. Five of her siblings died in childhood, another was later stabbed. Masipa attended St. John Berchman Primary School in Orlando East and St. Theresa School in Manzini , Swaziland . In 1966 she graduated from Immaculata High School in Alexandra . She then worked for five years to finance her studies. She studied social work and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor's degree . She then worked as a social worker and court reporter. As a journalist, she had personal experience with police violence. She turned to law and obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of South Africa in 1990 . She was admitted to the bar in 1991 and worked in this capacity for the Johannesburg Court until 1998 . On December 1, 1998, she was appointed judge in the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court.

After the athlete Oscar Pistorius shot his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013 in his home in Pretoria , Masipa acquitted him in September 2014 of the accusation of intentional homicide but was found guilty of negligent homicide. The further course of the proceedings is described in the article Oscar Pistorius # Kriminalfall .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Second black woman appointed as a judge on sabar.co.za, accessed on November 7, 2014 (English, PDF)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ishaan Tharoor: Meet the trailblazing judge who sentenced Oscar Pistorius to 5 years in jail. In: The Washington Post October 21, 2014. Retrieved November 8, 2014.