President of Supreme Court of Appeal Mandisa Maya during her interview for South Africa's next Chief Justice at Park Hotel, Sandton, on 2 February 2022. Photo: Gallo Images/Daily Maverick/Felix Dlangamandla
The president of the Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Mandisa Maya has congratulated Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on his appointment as the next Chief Justice.
Justice Maya’s statement comes a few days after President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as the Chief Justice effective from 01 April, in accordance with Section 174(3) of the Constitution.
In the same statement announcing Zondo’s appointment, Ramaphosa indicated his intention to nominate Justice Maya for the position of deputy chief justice.
“This nomination will be subject to the process outlined in Section 174(3) of the Constitution,” he said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Justice Maya said she had “full confidence” in Justice Zondo as the leader of the judiciary.
She said she had “no doubt that the contribution he will continue to make in our jurisprudence and administration of justice will strengthen and move the South African judiciary forward”.
“President Maya offers her full support to the incoming Chief Justice and is committed to continue working with him in the exercise of judicial authority.”
She further thanked those who supported her candidature, formally and informally, for the position.
Zondo’s appointment was met with criticism from corners that questioned why Justice Maya did not make the cut despite being the candidate who was recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) following interviews last month.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) rejected the appointment and labbelled Ramaphosa’s decision as “short-sighted, factional and uninspired”.
“His arrogance and reluctance to be truthful about his relationship with Jacob Zuma, led to his refusal to recuse himself when confronted with Zuma as a witness at the state capture commission in 2021. It was this spiteful, vindictive and dishonest decision that led to the greatest security threat in post-democratic South Africa which saw over 300 lives lost during the July 2021 unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal,” said the party.
However, other political parties were please with his decision, saying Zondo was the “right” choice.
READ NEXT: ‘Short-sighted and factional’ – political parties react to Raymond Zondo’s appointment
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