Tshwarelo Hunter Mogakane
Pretoria - Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya has been urged to tackle challenges facing the South African judicial system, especially when it comes to its alleged dysfunctional governance.
Justice Maya officially resumed her duties yesterday after President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her in July.
This was after Ramaphosa overlooked Justice Maya for appointment as chief justice after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended her as Mogoeng Mogoeng’s replacement.
Among her well-wishers was lobby group Judges Matter, a Cape Town-based watchdog organisation specialising in matters affecting the judiciary.
“Judges Matter welcomes Justice Maya officially assuming her responsibility as deputy chief justice. We look forward to working with her on solving the big challenges facing the judiciary today, including the dysfunctional governance and administration system, and the judicial misconduct system.
“We wish her well in her new role and look forward to working with her to improve access to justice for all people in South Africa,” said Mbekezeli Benjamin, a researcher at Judges Matter.
According to Judges Matter, Justice Maya has the capacity to fix the judiciary because of her rich history in the legal fraternity.
“Justice Maya is one of South Africa’s most senior judges, having first been appointed to the high court in 2000. She has served as the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal since 2017 – the first woman to do so.
“Seven women judges were appointed in Justice Maya’s five years as head of the Supreme Court of Appeal, compared to the nine appointed in the 100 or so years prior.
“In the 1980s, she worked as a court interpreter and prosecutor before joining the Women’s Legal Defense Fund in Washington DC.
“In the early 1990s Justice Maya spent stints as a law adviser at the Department of Justice and a a lecturer at the then-University of Transkei, now Walter Sisulu University.
“She spent the second half of the ’90s practising as an advocate before acting as a high court judge from July 1999 until April 2000.
“She was permanently appointed to the high court in Mthatha in 2000 and served there until her appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2005, where she became the first black woman in that court,” reads the site.
Judges Matter has also praised Justice Maya for her extensive knowledge in the fundamentals of democracy, which the body says are key to being the second in command of the South African judiciary.
“In 1994, as the country headed to its first democratic elections, (Justice) Maya worked as an investigator for the Independent Electoral Commission, looking into allegations of white farmers in the Eastern Cape who were destroying the election material of so-called ‘black political parties’ and preventing their black workers from organising or attending political events.
“(Justice) Maya has a solid track record as a leader in the judiciary. As head of the Supreme Court, she has had to contend with what were reported to be serious tensions between judges across racial and gender lines, coupled with allegations of bullying.
“Several of her colleagues have spoken in glowing terms about how, in dealing with these problems, (Justice) Maya was able to fundamentally change
the Supreme Court’s institutional culture, fostering collegiality and demolishing stifling hierarchies,” said Judges Matter.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Justice Maya would bring more than two decades of a distinguished career as a judicial officer to the table.
“She is the first woman to hold the positions of deputy president and president of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The racial demographics of the SCA now more closely match that of the country,” said Magwenya.
Ramaphosa said Justice Maya was expected to contribute to the ongoing transformation process of the judiciary.
“Her ascendancy to the apex court will serve as a beacon of hope for scores of young women and make them believe that South Africa is a country of possibilities regardless of gender, social or economic circumstances,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa nominated Justice Maya for the deputy position after she was initially recommended by the Judicial Service Commission to be chief justice. However, Ramaphosa favoured Justice Raymond Zondo over Maya.
Pretoria News