LJU4801 PORTFOLIO
SEMESTER 2 - 2023
OCT/NOV 2023
DUE DATE: 25 DECEMBER 2023
, LJU4801 PORTFOLIO EXAM SEMESTER 2 - 2023
UNIQUE NUMBER: N/A
CLOSING DATE: 25 OCTOBER 2023
MARKS: 100
QUESTION 1
1.1 In the first paragraph ubuntu is characterised as typically African. Write a brief essay in
which you explain what ubuntu means and indicate whether you think the judge is
right in his characterisation of ubuntu. Your answer should not exceed 750 words. (15)
Ubuntu is a concept that is not easy to define. 1 This is partly because it is difficult to
translate a uniquely African concept into English. 2 As Tutu postulates, ‘ubuntu is very
difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human’. 3
Moreover, many elements go into making a person humane, which also makes it hard to
define this concept. 4 Ubuntu in the South African context is derived from Nguni and
Sesotho languages, 5 expressed as umuntu ngumuntu ngabutu and motho ke motho ka
batho babang, respectively. These expressions articulate that a human being is a human
being through interactions with other humans. 6 As described by the court in S v
Makwanyane,
1
Ramathate T H Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ (2014) 40
Studia Historiae Ecclesiaticae 215, 216; Irma J Kroeze, Legal Philosophy Study Guide (University of South Africa,
2017) 153
2
Tutu D as cited by Kroeze, Legal Philosophy 153.
3
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
4
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
5
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
6
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 217; Willie L Van der
Merwe, ‘Philosophy and the Multi-cultural Context of (post) Apartheid South Africa’ (1996) 3 (2) Ethical
Perspectives 76, 76.
1
SEMESTER 2 - 2023
OCT/NOV 2023
DUE DATE: 25 DECEMBER 2023
, LJU4801 PORTFOLIO EXAM SEMESTER 2 - 2023
UNIQUE NUMBER: N/A
CLOSING DATE: 25 OCTOBER 2023
MARKS: 100
QUESTION 1
1.1 In the first paragraph ubuntu is characterised as typically African. Write a brief essay in
which you explain what ubuntu means and indicate whether you think the judge is
right in his characterisation of ubuntu. Your answer should not exceed 750 words. (15)
Ubuntu is a concept that is not easy to define. 1 This is partly because it is difficult to
translate a uniquely African concept into English. 2 As Tutu postulates, ‘ubuntu is very
difficult to render into a Western language. It speaks of the very essence of being human’. 3
Moreover, many elements go into making a person humane, which also makes it hard to
define this concept. 4 Ubuntu in the South African context is derived from Nguni and
Sesotho languages, 5 expressed as umuntu ngumuntu ngabutu and motho ke motho ka
batho babang, respectively. These expressions articulate that a human being is a human
being through interactions with other humans. 6 As described by the court in S v
Makwanyane,
1
Ramathate T H Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ (2014) 40
Studia Historiae Ecclesiaticae 215, 216; Irma J Kroeze, Legal Philosophy Study Guide (University of South Africa,
2017) 153
2
Tutu D as cited by Kroeze, Legal Philosophy 153.
3
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
4
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
5
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 216.
6
Dolamo, ‘Botho/Ubuntu: Perspective of Black Consciousness and Black Theology’ 217; Willie L Van der
Merwe, ‘Philosophy and the Multi-cultural Context of (post) Apartheid South Africa’ (1996) 3 (2) Ethical
Perspectives 76, 76.
1
