Justice Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob – Chairman

Born on 3 March 1948, Judge Yacoob became blind at 16 months as a result of meningitis.

He attended the Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind and went on to study for a BA at the University College, Durban (now Natal University, Westville campus).

In 1972, he completed his LLB and was admitted as an advocate by the Natal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court in March 1972.

As a junior counsel he represented many people prosecuted for contravening security laws and other oppressive legislation – including the 'Durban Six', who occupied the British Consulate in Durban in 1984 in protest against apartheid; UDF members in the Delmas Treason Trial; and high-ranking ANC members in the 'Vula' trial.

During this time, Judge Yacoob also ran a general legal practice and served as a member of the Society of Advocates of Natal. He took silk in May 1991 and joined the Constitutional Court of South Africa in February 1998.

A fierce opponent of apartheid, Judge Yacoob was a member of the Natal Indian Congress, the Durban Housing Action Committee, the Durban Detainees' Support committee and the underground structures of the ANC.

He served as Chancellor of the University of Durban-Westville from May 2001 to December 2003 and served on the IEC from December 1993 to June 1994.

He has also been heavily involved in the activities of the Natal Indian Blind and Deaf Society and the South African National Council for the Blind, having been elected chairperson in 2001 and re-elected in 2003.

Judge Yacoob is committed to working with government, corporate stakeholders and the community at large to ensure the effective coordination of delivery of services to blind and partially sighted South Africans, especially at grassroots level.

Jill Wagner – Chief Executive Officer

Diagnosed with Macular Degeneration at the age of six, Jill Wagner has about 5 per cent eyesight – which enables her to walk without a guide-dog or white cane, but not to read or write in the normal way, or to recognise faces.

However, far from allowing her disability to restrict her potential, Jill grasped the opportunities offered by the new technology in the 80's and, with the help of a bursary from Optima college, trained as a computer programmer.

This required some sacrifices, as she had to leave her five-year old son behind in Cape Town during the six-month training period in Pretoria. But it was the beginning of a highly successful career in the IT and business arenas, which finally led her back to SANCB as the new National Executive Director, following the retirement of Dr William Rowland.