Mogoeng is just the man to uphold the law

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has taken a fair amount of criticism since he took up his position as the country’s top judicial officer in 2011.

In the beginning, because he was appointed at the height of the Jacob Zuma years, there was concern that he would be little more than a lapdog for Zuma. He quickly disabused many people of that notion by ruling against Zuma, finding that the then-president violated his constitutional duty.

Then, there was more concern about the fact that Mogoeng makes no bones about his religious beliefs, which underpin his moral philosophy. Religion, the critics argued, has no place in jurisprudence.

Yet the chief justice has been winning over even the most serious of doubters through his strong commitment to uphold the rule of law and his intention to do this without fear or favour.

The latest indication of his steadfast attitude came this week, when he revealed he had turned down a R600 million offer from “somebody” to help modernise the court system.

Of the offer, Mogoeng said: “I rejected it with the necessary contempt because that’s how capture happens.”

His comments came amid what he described as a “campaign to deligitimise the judiciary” so that when a judgment goes against certain people, the courts can be discredited.

Mogoeng made it plain, too, that the judiciary has “never avoided holding their own accountable”.

In these turbulent times, when disinformation and fake news are the weapons being used to fight political and even business battles, SA needs a balanced, unbiased, judiciary.

We believe that in Mogoeng, SA has just the sort of tough, but fair, chief justice it needs. He will be one of the key guardians of our liberty.

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