Abstract: This Article explores the lack of counsel for poor criminal defendants within a system beset by racial segregation. It contrasts the jurisprudential background of the right to counsel in South Africa with that of the United States, and examines recent South African efforts to constitutionalize the right in the wake of the dismantling of apartheid. The Article then evaluates possible solutions to the problem, ranging from full representation to a more limited "special circumstances" rule, and proposes a number of steps to implement these solutions. As South Africa faces a rare historical opportunity to rework its institutions in order to promote equality and justice, addressing the lack of counsel in criminal cases is a crucial step in this process of transformation.