Justice Mahube Molemela to head SCA
President Cyril Ramaphosa has nominated Justice Mahube Molemela to become the next President of the SCA, filling the vacancy created when he named Justice Mandisa Maya Deputy Chief Justice.
The Mail & Guardian reports that Molemela will be the second woman to head the SCA, which she joined in mid-2018. Before that, she was the Judge President of the Free State. She was also the second woman in the country to serve as Judge President of a provincial division, and is the only member of the SCA who has held that position. She was first appointed to the Bench in 2008.
Judges Matter welcomed the nomination and noted that Molemela had been commended for her stable leadership of the Free State High Court (Bloemfontein).
‘I think Molemela is an inspired choice when you consider what would be the typical criteria of leadership in the judiciary, which includes a leadership track record and jurisprudential or intellectual leadership,’ said Mbekezeli Benjamin, the group’s research and advocacy officer.
Benjamin added: ‘At the SCA, she has written a streak of dissenting judgments, a few of which have been upheld by the Constitutional Court.’
These included Morudi and others v NC Housing Services and Development Co and others, which concerned the rights of shareholders in a company in the Northern Cape who argued that they had been denied their right of access to court.
Molemela has acted on the Constitutional Court, and served as a judge on the Labour Appeal Court and the Competition Appeal Court, reports the M&G. She was one of five judges nominated by the JSC for appointment to the apex court in 2021, of whom Ramaphosa eventually appointed Justices Jody Kollapen and Rammaka Mathopo. She was again nominated in 2022, when the President appointed Justice Owen Rogers.
Judges Matter said it was ‘a cause for some concern’ that once Molemela is appointed, she and Maya will be the only two women to hold permanent leadership positions in the judiciary.
‘It means that only two women will sit on the 14-member heads of court forum, a body responsible for taking important decisions in the judiciary.’
At present, 40% of judges are women.
‘Judges Matter therefore calls on the leadership of the judiciary and the JSC to take urgent steps to bring more women onto the decision-making table.’
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
