Ronald Lamola, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services in South Africa, garnered global attention when he led his country’s delegation at the International Criminal Court on December 29, 2023, calling for an investigation into Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Early Life and Upbringing
Born in 1983 in the town of Bushbuckridge in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province, Ronald Lamola joined the African National Congress Youth League at the age of 13.
Education and Academic Background
Lamola earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Venda in 2005. He then completed practical legal training at the University of South Africa in 2006.
He has postgraduate certificates in corporate law from UNISA and in banking law and financial markets, as well as in policy, regulation, and management of communications from the Wits Business School.
Attaining two master’s degrees from the University of Pretoria, his first master’s was in corporate law, where he explored the regulation of real estate participation schemes, focusing on the regulatory bodies’ roles in governing public deposits, and the intersection of corporate law with banking law and reserve bank law.
His second master’s degree, awarded in 2018, was in the law of mining industries in Africa, a specialty focusing on the laws governing the extraction of minerals, oil, and gas on the continent. Lamola’s research highlighted the social investment of companies in the mining and energy sectors.
Political Experience
Early in his professional life, Lamola was a rising star in the African National Congress Youth League, serving as the deputy to Julius Malema. However, by late 2011, Lamola and other party leaders were suspended for allegedly tarnishing the party’s reputation after they proposed sending a team to Botswana to unite opposition parties to effect change there. After this sanction, Lamola disappeared from public view for several years.
While away from politics, he returned to the practice of law and established his private law firm.
In 2012, Lamola appealed to the African National Congress members to work on improving the party’s status and supported South Africa’s former President Kgalema Motlanthe to lead the party.
He returned to politics in 2017 when he joined David Mabuza, South Africa’s Deputy President, to support Cyril Ramaphosa in an event prior to the “Nasrec Conference,” where he was elected to the National Executive Committee, being its youngest member at the time. Shortly after, he was appointed as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development in 2019.
Case Against Israel
Ronald Lamola’s star rose and social media users dubbed him the “man of the historic moment” when he led his country’s delegation in the lawsuit filed on December 29, 2023, at the International Criminal Court, calling for the investigation of Israel for its involvement in war crimes and genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In an 84-page lawsuit document, South Africa stated that Israel failed to prevent genocide and failed to prosecute those who publicly incited it.
Lamola emphasized that South Africa is determined to end “genocide in Gaza through this lawsuit,” adding that his country “draws strength from world leaders who stand on the right side of history.”
Roles and Responsibilities
- Official in the Govan Mbeki Municipality from March to June 2009.
- Director of the Office of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Recreation in Mpumalanga from July 2009 to January 2011.
- Acting official spokesperson for the Premier of Mpumalanga from January to October 2011.
- Member of the National Election Committee at the African National Congress conference in December 2017 (the youngest member in the history of the committee).
- Appointed Minister of Justice and Correctional Services on May 29, 2019.
- Led his country’s delegation at the International Criminal Court hearing in the case against Israel in December 2023.
