Nicholas McNally

Commemoration by Professor Paulus Zulu during the 2022 Plenary Session

Justice Nicholas McNally was born in Gibraltar on December 22, 1931 and moved with his parents to the then Federation of Rhodesia as a young boy. He completed his education in Grahams Town in South Africa. After graduating with a Law Degree, he started his career as a Diplomat for the Federation. There are four distinguished features in Justice McNally.

1      A distinguished human rights lawyer

As an advocate, Nicholas McNally worked together with Sydney Kentridge, a distinguished human rights advocate from South Africa, and together they defended human rights activists persecuted under the draconian laws of the then Southern Rhodesia. In almost all cases the British Privy Council reversed the verdicts passed by the Rhodesian High Court, which acted from the dictates of the Smith Government that had unilaterally declared independence for Southern Rhodesia. Despite the reversals by the Privy Council, the accused were executed under the Rhodesian laws.

2      A political activist and a strong believer in non-racialism

When McNally was not defending victims of political persecutions, he was busy advocating for non racialism in Rhodesia, to the extent that he was instrumental in forming the Centre Party which fought a whites’ only election under a non-racial ticket. Again, because of the prevailing racial politics in the country, his party failed very poorly in the election of 1974.

3      A devout Catholic

McNally was a strong supporter of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, a body which strongly opposed the law which gave government officials, ministers and security forces indemnity for all crimes they committed provided they acted bona fide in the belief that they were suppressing terrorism. Fighters in the liberation struggle were victims of this law. On civil issues, McNally was one of the active Catholics that spearheaded the establishment of the Catholic University of Zimbabwe.

4      McNally the Judge

On his appointment as Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe, McNally soon distinguished himself in the judgments that he penned. He had already become prominent in the acquittal of Tekere, a leader in the liberation struggle, when together with Louis Bloom-Coper QC they succeeded, despite bitter opposition from Ian Smith. McNally’s juridical acumen and independence of mind were soon noticeable when, as Judge of the High Court of Appeal in independent Zimbabwe, he twice rebooked the Government of President Robert Mugabe for undermining the rule of law. Upon his retirement in 2001, he was appointed to the High Court in Botswana where he served for a number of years. He died aged 89 years on the 23^rd of January 2021 in Johannesburg, South Africa where he had finally retired to.