College of Law

Unisa law student and alumnus excels in essay-writing competition

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Donald Kubayi

The College of Law congratulates Donald Kubayi, who was a runner-up in the South African Law Reform Commission’s (SALRC’s) Justice Pius Langa legal essay-writing competition for 2021.

The virtual awards ceremony was held on 28 January 2022. The title of his essay is “Public Policy a Catalyst for Silencing Financial Crime and Corruption: A Case for the Deployment of Digital IDs on Social Media Platforms”. Kubayi, who holds a Bachelor of Laws from Unisa, is currently studying towards his coursework master’s in intellectual property law at the university. He further holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental and Geographical Science from the University of Cape Town, and a diploma in Creative Multimedia from the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa.

In his essay, Kubayi argues that criminals increasingly use social media for the recruitment of victims, clients and service providers. They also use social media to solicit donations that are normally channelled through the financial system. His essay makes a case for public policy as a catalyst for the take-up of digital identity technologies by social media companies and highlights some digital ID networks in the public and private sectors that shed light on the potential of digital ID tools for facilitating collaboration and winning the war on financial crime and corruption.

Born in the village of Mzilela in Giyani Town in Limpopo, Kubayi is the second-born of a second wife in a polygamous household with 13 children. He currently works at the University of Pretoria’s Sector Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Support Programme. He is also Deputy Director of Infrastructure Support at the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). His directorate is responsible for the administration of the DHET’s capital grants for infrastructure development at South African public universities.

Kubayi wants to be an academic, because the academic space will allow him to pursue his research passion. He commented on his career prospects by saying: “When I decided to enrol for a law degree in 2011, my goal was to become a legal practitioner. I have a burning desire to carve out an academic career and write law articles on intellectual property.”

Commenting on his runner-up placement at the essay-writing competition, Kubayi says that being a finalist for such a prestigious award is a great honour. “I still cannot believe that my essay was worthy of the spirit of the late Chief Justice Pius Langa, who served this nation with dignity and distinction,” he says.

“My advice for law students who aspire to win academic competitions,” concludes Kubayi, “is, firstly, to develop your academic writing and legal research skills, for they are crucial for a successful legal career. Secondly, always participate in extra-curricular activities.”

About the competition

The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) encourages young legal practitioners to come up with innovative ideas regarding law reform. The competition aims to honour South African legal achievers who have contributed to the advancement of our constitutional democracy. Since 2018, it is dedicated to the memory of the late Chief Justice Pius Nkonzo Langa.

Inspired by the legacy of Justice Pius Langa, the South African Law Reform Commission, in partnership with Juta, invites all law students studying towards an LLB or LLM at a South African university to submit their innovative ideas regarding law reform for its 2022 legal-essay writing competition.

 

* By Ngwako Mokgotho, Communications and Marketing Specialist, College of Law

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Publish date: 2022-03-01 00:00:00.0

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