South Africa is on the brink of a historic moment as it may soon have its first female chief justice! 

The Judicial Services Commission (JSC) has recommended that Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya succeed Raymond Zondo as the next Constitutional Court Chief Justice. This recommendation aligns with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s preference, making it highly likely that Maya will assume the role. This potential appointment marks a significant step towards gender representation in leadership roles. 💃

Mandisa Maya, a trailblazer in her own right, was the first woman president of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), the second-highest court in the land. She was in line to be the next chief justice, but Ramaphosa chose Zondo and appointed Maya as his deputy, a decision that has now paved the way for her potential appointment as the first female chief justice. 

Answering the JSC on Tuesday, Maya said that while there were challenges in South Africa’s judicial system, including safety, huge caseloads and poor infrastructure, the work was exhilarating. “I have not worked as hard in my entire life than I have in the last 20 months,” she said.

She has also called for more judges to be appointed to the highest court in the land to ease the workload. Currently, only 11 judges sit on the bench, but Maya mentioned that there is space for 15. 

Journalist Rebecca Davis has questioned whether enough scrutiny was being placed on Maya’s appointment. “One of the concerns of legal insiders is that Maya may fundamentally be a more political figure than Zondo. She is known to enjoy the support of the ANC’s National Executive Committee, for instance, although as a trailblazing black woman from the rural Eastern Cape this is not surprising.” wrote Davis. She argued that while there was much to celebrate about the appointment, a greater degree of scrutiny and analysis would be “comforting.”

According to Judges Matters, RISE Mzansi’s Songezo Zibi has criticised Maya’s handling of the IEC v Mkhonto Wesizwe hearing, where she allowed Dali Mpofu SC to exceed his allocated time, in violation of the Concourt’s directives (and the loud buzzer). “By not reining Mpofu in, Justice Maya participated in the denigration of an institution that is supposed to be where all of us conform to the principles and norms that make us a democratic country,” Zibi says.

The JSC has also recommended the chair of the Electoral Court, Judge Dumisani Zondi, who had initially ruled that former president Jacob Zuma was eligible to stand as a member of Parliament for the position of deputy president of the SCA.

This potential appointment would not only change leadership but also significantly advance gender representation in South Africa’s legal system.