Western Cape High Court Judge Thandazwa Ndita has been formally reprimanded by the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) for delaying judgment in an urgent application involving the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for more than 14 months.

In a ruling handed down by Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo on Tuesday, Ndita was directed to tender a written apology to the complainant, attorney Kabelo Malao, within 30 days of receiving the ruling.

Mlambo said the delay in delivering judgment on the application ‘constituted a grossly negligent breach of the Code of Judicial Conduct and conduct unbecoming of a judge’, in terms of a section of the Judicial Service Commission Act.

Malao brought the urgent application in the Western Cape High Court in September 2023 against the RAF. Judgment was only delivered electronically on 11 December 2024. 

Moneyweb reports that Malao expressed his ‘profound dissatisfaction’ with the ruling and sanction imposed.

He claimed the sanction imposed is ‘grossly inappropriate and inconsistent with the findings, inconsistent with previous rulings, and inconsistent with the seriousness of the misconduct’.

Malao said the ruling brought the name of the JSC into disrepute: ‘I am not happy at all. It seems to me that even when a judge defies the JSC, she gets a slap on the wrist.’

Ndita’s judgment ultimately dismissed the application, finding that it lacked urgency and jurisdiction and was res judicata.

She also ordered Malao and K Malao Inc to pay the RAF’s costs.

Mlambo said it was neither necessary nor appropriate, in a ruling on the complaint, to determine whether Ndita was correct in dismissing the urgent application or in granting a punitive costs order: ‘Those are matters for the ordinary appeal or review processes.’

Full Moneyweb report