Bennie Goldin

Bennie Goldin (5 August 1918 – 20 March 2003) was a Byelorussian-born, Zimbabwean lawyer and judge. He was a justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1981. Previously, he served on the High Court of Rhodesia from 1964 to 1980. Born in Nesvizh, Byelorussia (now Belarus), he grew up in Cape Town (South Africa), immigrated to Salisbury (Southern Rhodesia) ( as it then was) after World War II, and later returned in 1981 to Cape Town where he served as a judge in Transkei.

Early life, education, and military service

Goldin was born in Belarus, on 5 August 1918. His family moved to South Africa before World war Two, He attended Sea Point Boy's High School in Cape Town before attending the University of Cape Town, where he received his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws. He entered South Africa's Union Defence Force during World War II, serving in Italy and North Africa.

Like the entire Rhodesian judiciary, Goldin faced a dilemma regarding the illegality of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965. He later wrote about the experience of the Rhodesian judges (including himself), "When faced with a distinct likelihood of a declaration of independence, they were obviously concerned about it as judges and citizens." In 1973, Goldin heard the appeal of Peter Niesewand, a Rhodesian journalist convicted for "revealing official secrets." The High Court reversed his conviction, with Goldin and Justice Hector Macdonald concurring with the opinion written by Chief Justice Beadle. He sat on the Supreme Court until 1981, when he retired and moved back to South Africa. There, he became a judge on the Supreme Court of Transkei, one of the bantustans, or unrecognised "states" within South Africa set up for black inhabitants. He died in 2003.

Personal life and honours

Goldin was Jewish. He and his wife, Hancy, lived in Salisbury (today Harare),

In 1990, he published a book, The Judge, the Prince, and the Usurper – from UDI to Zimbabwe.

Professor Michael Gelfand was a close friend with whom he co-authored several books including "African Law and Custom" which dealt with Shona law. Other books he published were: "Unhappy Marriage and Divorce" and "In and Out of Marriage".