The Supreme Court of Appeal recently handed down judgment in a matter concerning a deceased woman’s wish to set up bursaries to be available to white students only (amongst other criteria).

The other criteria specified the universities at which the students should be studying, their field of study, and the level at which they should be studying. The bursaries would help them further their studies overseas, on condition that they returned to South Africa to put their new skills into practice.

The trustees tasked with putting the deceased’s wishes into effect, approached the universities which the deceased had identified. They all indicated that they could not accept any bursary unless it was open to students of all races. The trustees then approached first the High Court and later the Supreme Court of Appeal, asking the courts to remove the race criterion from the deceased’s bequest, on the basis that it…