Robin James Stransham-Ford

The high profile advocate died after a long battle with cancer, two hours before Pretoria High Court Judge Hans Fabricius ruled in favour of his application for assisted suicide.

O’Regan J: “The right to life is more than existence, it is a right to be treated as a human being with dignity. Without dignity human life is substantially diminished. Without life, there cannot be dignity.”

As the advocate for www.fieldsofgreenforall.org.za, Stransham-Ford was assisting Knysna residents with applications for stays of prosecution until the law making cannabis illegal is challenged at the Constitutional Court in 2016.

A Knysna resident, who wishes to remain anonymous lest it affect their case, had this to say:

“On 30 Jan this year, we took Robin to East Head Cafe for lunch. He loved that the sea was so close by. My recollections of our day with him include him relating how he had been told 6 years ago that he only 6 months to live – he believed that using medical cannabis had extended his life.

My impression was that he wanted to die in a righteous battle. He used to be in Special Forces. It was appropriate that he was armed with an intelligent, sharp-as-a-razor brain. He understood that the art of war should be for the public. There was kindness in his blue eyes.

We are grateful for our personal moment with him and that he unselfishly used his skills to help fight against the war on the cannabis plant.”

It is expected that the South African Government will appeal the ruling favouring assisted suicide. It’s likely that the final solution will be delivered in the Constitutional Court.