TRIBUTE TO IKE RAMOTSHELA
Siile Matela

In his song; “You are not alone”, penned for a well-known Gary, Indiana pop icon, the prolific American songwriter; Robert Kelly laments;

Another day has gone;
I’m still all alone
How could this be
You are not here with me
You never said goodbye
Someone tell me why
Did you have to go?
And leave my world so cold?

The answer is to be found in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Wrote the Bard of Avon;

“All the world is a stage
And all men and women merely players
They have their exits and their entrances
And one man in his time plays many parts….”

As we mourn the death of one such man of whom Shakespeare wrote, we must not forget the many roles he played. On the world stage, Ike Ramotshela had many starring roles. He was a father, a brother, a lawyer, a friend and a breadwinner. When I received the news of his death; I was gutted with disbelief. I had to call at least three people for verification. More devastating was the manner of his death; merciless, tragic and gruesome. With that, he left our world so cold and us all alone. What a way to exit the world stage! It is chilling to think that in a year’s time and unless we all so something about crime, some of us who saw him off will not be around to celebrate his memory and will probably have gone as violently as he did.

The Sunday World reported that eight bullets had been pumped into his body. How cruel! Was any thought given to his clients? What about his children, his siblings? What about his friends and colleagues again? What about his neighbours? There may not be “a truckload of corpses” but one corpse is one corpse too many. People are dying violently. When will it ever end? Ike has become a casualty of the killing fields that our beloved country has turned into. We have to get our hands dirty to stop the descent into anarchy and protect our hard won rights to freedom and security of the person.

Ike was a friend, colleague and brother to me. Having met at the University of the Witwatersrand where I had been his mentor, we continued our association beyond the university into our legal careers. Always eager to give counsel, he was not shy to seek it whenever he felt the need for it. I could call him at any time and he would be there for me. As for him, he would call me and if he did not find me, he would simply drive to my house just so that I was in no doubt that he had been looking for me. He even had special rapport with our dog and not once did they fight. On many an occasion when I needed a Commissioner of Oaths and we were working late in our respective offices, Ike would hang around and wait for me to finalize my affidavit. Better still, he would simply come over to our offices. Lawyers sell their time and for him to wait at my convenience was remarkable generosity. For that, I will remain indebted to him.

Practising largely in criminal law and motor vehicle accidents, Ike would seek my counsel in respect of civil work, the area in which I practise extensively. I did likewise with him in respect of criminal law matters and he would graciously offer me advice. The man who conferred the titles of SC (Senior Counsel) and CJ (Chief Justice) on me is no more and I am deeply saddened. Of these titles, I did not protest and was in fact deeply enamoured of them. Those in the legal profession will tell you that they do not come bigger than SC and CJ. It did not matter what others would have thought of me. To him I was the man and I mattered to him. I was his CJ and that was that.

When he called me on the Wednesday before his gruesome and tragic death, Ike gave me no inkling that I would never hear his voice again. Like he was wont to say, he went; “CJ, are you at home?” Upon retorting that I was about to leave my office, he pointed out that he would just go in and have tea. I now realize that although in the words of Robert Kelly; he “never said goodbye” to me, he went to say goodbye to my two daughters and wife. That my family- for whom he had so much affection - will never see him again is devastating. We are all shattered. His children were showered with that love too. When Lesedi started school in Mulbarton this year, he cleared his diary to be with him. How sad that he will never see Lesedi and his two other children graduate. For me, a bond forged during our university days and transcending our legal careers has been physically and violently ruptured. His like will never be seen again.

I trust that you have now become acquainted with the cause of our grief. As I stood there, metres away from the place where Ike met his death, I was tempted to find solace in William Shakespeare’s Mark Anthony on the occasion of Caesar’s death. Said he of the piece of earth that received Caesar’s blood;

“Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times”.

Of Caesar; Mark Anthony went on to say;

“He was my friend faithful and just to me”.

It may pass for sentimentality but the Ike I knew was a man of considerable gentleness, generosity, sincerity, nobility even. The piece of earth that he walked on will be poorer for his departure. He who “was my friend, faithful and just to me’’ is no more! To his family and especially his three children, I return to Robert Kelly and say; “You are not alone”. We are all saddened and mourn him deeply. He will be sorely missed. I pray that you will find strength and fortitude to deal with his death. May you be comforted in the knowledge that God needed another angel in heaven and that whatever loss you may feel is God’s gain. His footprints will forever remain in the sands of time. He will live in our hearts forever. And to you Ike; May your soul rest in peace. Thank you for the memories. We love you more, much more. Until we meet again, farewell Ike!

*** Siile Matela is an attorney and director at FRP Inc, Johannesburg.