IOM Representative Shun Chetty dies

Shun Chetty, the Southern African regional representative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), died in Pretoria on Monday, the IOM said in a statement. Chetty, who was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1941, was admitted as an attorney in 1971 and practised in Durban and Johannesburg. He left South Africa in the late 1970s for political reasons. Among the high-profile political cases he handled was the marathon trial of a dozen black activists - from 1975 to 1977 - who were charged for organising and holding pro-FRELIMO rallies to celebrate Mozambique’s independence from Portugal. Chetty was also the instructing attorney in the inquest into the death of Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) leader Steve Biko who died in police custody in 1977. After leaving South Africa, Chetty worked for the UNHCR from 1980 to 1995 in various positions and represented the organisation in numerous countries. He went on to work for the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal in Sydney as chief executive officer from 1996 to 1998 and then moved to the IOM. Chetty was also a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).