Christoffel Frederik "Frikkie" Eloff SC (31 January 1925 – 10 December 2017) was a South African judge who served as Judge President of the

Transvaal Provincial Division The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was t ...

from 1991 until 1998.

Early life and education

Eloff, was born in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

in 1925 and was taken to England at a young age, where he attended boarding school in Bexhill. He returned to South Africa and matriculated in Pretoria in 1941. After school he started studying part-time at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was ...

and obtained his BA and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

degrees.

Career

Eloff was admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and called to the Pretoria

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

at the age of 22 in 1947. He

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1965 and was first appointed as an acting judge in 1967. In 1973 he became a permanent judge at

of the

. He served as an acting

judge of appeal The Judge of Appeal is a part-time judge in the Isle of Man High Court who only sits in the Staff of Government Division, the appeal court. The position was created by the Judicature (Amendment) Act 1918 which also amalgamated the offices of F ...

during 1984 and in 1985, he became Deputy Judge President of the Transvaal Provincial Division. In 1991 he was appointed the Judge President of the Transvaal Division, a post he had held until 1998.

Notable cases

In 1996, Eloff was the presiding judge in the divorce trial of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician, and the second wife of Nelson Mandela. She ser ...

. A few years earlier he was the judge in the

Chris Hani Chris Hani (28 June 1942 – 10 April 1993), born Martin Thembisile Hani , was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). He was a fierce ...

murder trial. He sentenced both

Janusz Waluś Janusz Jakub Waluś ( , ; born 14 January 1953) is a Goral Polish right-wing extremist convicted of the 1993 assassination of Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), th ...

and

Clive Derby-Lewis Clive John Derby-Lewis (22 January 1936 – 3 November 2016) was a South African politician, who was involved first in the National Party and then, while serving as a member of parliament, in the Conservative Party. In 1993 he was convicted ...

to death, the sentences were later commuted to a life in prison.

Honours and awards

The University of Pretoria conferred an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

upon Eloff in 1996 and in the same year, he was appointed as the President of the Convocation of the university. In 2007, Eloff was honoured with a statue at the Palace of Justice in Pretoria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eloff, Frikkie 1925 births 2017 deaths South African judges University of Pretoria alumni

Early life and education

Career

Notable cases

Honours and awards

See also

References