James Self, former Democratic Unionist Congress leader;
FFormer Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader James Self, perhaps one of the most prominent military veterans, has died at the age of 68 after a long illness, the party announced on Tuesday.
DA leader John Steenhuisien said Mr Selfe had lived a quietly influential life in South Africa's modern political history and had made a significant contribution to South Africa's democracy.
Selfe first became actively involved in politics in the late 1970s and 1980s, when he worked as a researcher for the Progressive Federal Party (later to become the DA).
Mr Selfe was widely known in parliamentary corridors for his deference to his political opponents, including those in the ruling ANC.
Steenhuisen said he served on various committees in the Legislature for almost 30 years, particularly in his role on the committee on justice and corrective services, and that his oversight of the South African justice system was crucial to ensuring that fairness and accountability were always upheld in South African society.
“Through his service to three federal leaders as the party's first federal council president, Mr. James drove the establishment and strengthening of the DA as South Africa's formidable official opposition party,” the DA leader said in a statement.
“Mr Self was instrumental in fine-tuning the party’s systems and processes, strengthening the federal constitution and transforming the fast-growing DA into a modern, internationally renowned African freedom party with rules and fairness. changed.”
Mr Selfe is credited with pioneering some of the prosecution's most notable legal strategies, including the Zuma spy tape, the Nkandla scandal and state capture.
“In many ways, James was a pioneer in South Africa's opposition politics, for he opposed the unfettered power of the ANC majority and set out to rebuild South Africa's livelihood in the post-democratic history. “A living democracy in which the opposition acts as the ultimate watchdog of society,'' Steenhuisen said.
“In a country where democratic responsibility is still alarmingly evasive, this important development cannot be underestimated. We will continue this work for this country in his memory.”
He said Selfe will be remembered for setting an example with his ability to show immense resilience even under the most dire of circumstances.
Describing Mr Selfe as one of the country's unsung heroes, the attorney general said Mr Selfe dedicated his life to the liberation of South Africans and the uplift of the country as a newly liberated democracy. .