A consummate professional who was meticulous in his work and earned the respect of everyone he met.
This is how close friends described retired judge Dumile Kondile, father of the late ANC stalwart Sizwe, who died on Friday at the age of 90.
According to the Kondile family, their patriarch’s health had deteriorated in recent years, and he died in Gqeberha from natural causes.
Speaking about his close friend and former colleague, retired Eastern Cape judge president Cecil “Doc” Somyalo said he would always remember Kondile for his diligence and the respect he commanded.
“He was never an extrovert, and he was very good at his job.
“Everyone in the law fraternity he ever worked with respected him, and thanks to his meticulous work ethic many of his cases were precedent setting.”
Somyalo said their paths were intertwined since they first met at the University of Fort Hare.
“We both studied teaching, and he graduated a few years ahead of me.
“When I landed a teaching post at Cowan High School in New Brighton, Dumile was already teaching there.
“We both obtained our law degrees and later opened a law firm together above an old cinema in New Brighton.”
Several prominent legal figures cut their teeth at the Kondile and Somyalo legal practice, including Prof Barney Pityana and late acting judge Ntobeko Maqubela.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Sizwe also completed his legal studies at Fort Hare before his disappearance in 1981.
It later emerged that he had been drugged, shot and set alight by the apartheid security police before his ashes were tossed into a river near Komatipoort, in Mpumalanga.
Kondile later became the first black chief magistrate of Gqeberha before becoming a high court judge in KwaZulu-Natal, from where he retired 15 years ago.
“Our paths were so linked that I was even on the panel that interviewed Dumile for his position as a judge,” Somyalo said.
He recalled his friend’s passion for sport, particularly rugby, playing flanker at national level under apartheid, and later taking on coaching and administrative roles in the Bay and provincially.
“When we visited his family for Dumile’s 90th birthday, I could tell his health was deteriorating.
“One always hopes that your loved ones will recover, so when I heard the news of his death I was shocked and saddened,” Somyalo said.
The family’s representative and Kondile’s nephew, Pat, thanked the public for their many messages of condolence and tributes, saying the family appreciated every message and kind word it received during this difficult time.
The funeral is set to take place on Friday. Further details are not yet available.
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