Devikarani Priscilla Sewpal Jana (5 December 1943 – 10 October 2020) was a South African human rights lawyer, politician and diplomat.

She represented many significant figures in the movement, including South African president Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Steve Biko, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Following the advent of full democracy in South Africa, she became a lawmaker and served as a Member of Parliament with the ANC between 1994 and 1999.

She was a member of the justice committee that was responsible for the roll-out of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Devikarani Priscilla Sewpal was born 5 December 1943, in Westville, Natal (now called KwaZulu-Natal) near the port city of Durban.

[3] Her father's challenging of social injustices ranging from apartheid to the Indian caste system based discrimination, was an early influence on her.

[4] She first joined the Pietermaritzburg Girls' High School, where she organized a walkout as a part of a national potato boycott in 1958 protesting the treatment of Black farmers.

Writing in her memoir, Fighting for Mandela, she recollects a meeting with anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko when she was 26 that helped solidify the notion of identity in her mind.

[5] In one of her high-profile cases from this time she defended a 22-year-old activist and UMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) member, Solomon Mahlangu, who was eventually convicted under the Terrorism Act, 1967 for the murder of two white people.

Mahlangu was sentenced to death and subsequently hanged, due to prevailing common purpose laws that judged perceived complicity as harshly as the crime itself.

"[3][5] In 1979, Jana opened her own law practice, focusing on civil liberties and human rights cases.

[4] Through her career, Jana represented many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, including South African president Nelson Mandela, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Steve Biko, Ebrahim Ebrahim, Ahmed Kathrada, Solomon Mahlangu, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

[3] This was around the same time that Madikizela-Mandela had been arrested and detained in solitary confinement before being relegated to a segregated Black township in the Orange Free State.

Racially motivated laws of the time meant that as a person of Indian origin, Jana was not allowed to stay overnight while visiting her client.

[3] At the same time, Jana took exception when Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to prison for kidnapping of a young boy, Stompie Moeketsi, noting that this action had resulted in the anti-apartheid movement being drawn into this matter and being tarnished in the process.

[5] Jana also represented the poet Benjamin Moloise, who was condemned to death by hanging for the killing of a policeman in 1982.

[17][4] She took charge as the commissioner and deputy chair person of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in 2017.

[6] While Reg would continue to be with her during her struggles, his multiple affairs during this period led Jana to seek a divorce.

[3] In a statement, the African National Congress, calling attention to her sacrifices for the anti-apartheid liberation movement, stated, "at a time when she could have chosen to selfishly pursue personal wealth and material advancement.