Professor Thuli Mandonsela shared her experience of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in August as part of the Trek4Mandela initiative, saying her endeavour was driven by her innate belief in the Rule of Law.

She was addressing a Masterclass on the Rule of Law in Cape Town. Thuli Madonsela Women’s Day Executive Climb was the second of two summit groups in this year’s annual Trek4Mandela initiative. Twenty-three executives and celebrities scaled Africa’s highest peak on Women’s Day, 9 August, overcoming immense challenges including Madonsela’s own temporary blindness from what was believed to be a glucose deficiency condition.

Trek4Mandela raises funds for sanitary pads for the Imbumba Foundation’s Caring4Girls programme to ensure that underprivileged girl children will not have to miss a day of school because they don’t have sanitary wear.

During her Masterclass, Prof. Madonsela said despite her health scare during the expedition, it was an exhilarating experience and she would go back next year to take in what she had missed. She shared her personal experience of upholding the Rule of Law in both her professional and personal life and the impact this has had on her personally, on society and on communities, inspiring LexisNexis employees to follow her example.

“People need to know the law and understand it. The average person doesn’t know the laws, even average laws that impact on everyday justice. The Rule of Law requires that everybody is protected by the law. It is not only about the survival of the privileged. Access to justice is an important part of the law,” said Madonsela.

“If the Rule of Law unravels, everything will fall apart and that’s why we should all care about it,” she added.

CEO of Imbumba Foundation, Richard Mabaso, said an exciting difference with the 2020 expedition would be that the trekkers would be summitting all six routes in Mount Kilimanjaro.

LexisNexis Divisional Director for Data Services, Greg Brown, said of the company’s support of the cause, “For LexisNexis, it was a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to social justice and the rule of law. In more practical terms we were also able to contribute to a cause that looks to make sure one million female children will not miss a day of school through much-needed access to sanitary towels.”

Two LexisNexis women, Executive Manager – Industry Relationships, Mari van Wyk, and National Deployment Manager, Lee-Ann King, were among the 23 who summited the mountain in the Thuli Madonsela expedition.