Reflecting on a distinguished career
By Shanice Naidoo
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Cape Town - From shoe salesman to the bench of one of the most prominent high courts in South Africa.
While Western Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai thought he was destined for success, as he retires at the age of 69, he can proudly look back at an illustrious career spanning 43 years and making an immense contribution to the South African legal profession.
Judge Desai is well known for the cases that made the papers, putting people like triple murderer Henri Van Breda behind bars for three life terms and winning victories for the poor. But before he took a seat on the bench, he earned his stripes as an activist lawyer representing people accused apartheid crimes who often could not afford his services.