Navanetham ‘Navi' Pillay, 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner

“When we suffered under apartheid, those were immoral laws, they institutionalised racism. Where could we go for relief? And I yearned for a better system of law based on values.”

Waihiga Mwaura talks to Navanetham or 'Navi' Pillay who has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

The daughter of a bus driver, Navi grew up in segregated South Africa witnessing racial and gender discrimination on a daily basis. Determined to become a lawyer she spent decades representing political prisoners of the apartheid era and was the first non white woman to be appointed to South Africa’s high court.

She went on to represent the victims of the Rwanda genocide as a judge on the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal and was elected to the International Court of Justice. She also chaired a UN commission investigating human rights violations in Gaza.

The Nobel committee said the award recognises Pillay’s lifetime of work, praising her commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass.

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Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura
Producer: Albert Kirui, Charles Gitonga and Clare Williamson
Editor: Farhana Haider

(Image: Navi Pillay. Credit: Reuters)