Chief justice Zondo hangs up his robes after 27 years of service

After serving on the bench for 27 and a half years, chief justice Raymond Zondo will be hanging up his robes next week.

The office of the chief justice announced in a statement on Friday that the judiciary will honour Zondo in a special ceremonial sitting of the Constitutional Court on 21 August, the day he will hand down his last judgment.

Farewell dinner to honour Zondo

The executive, Parliament, judiciary, and legal professions will participate in this event, and the evening before, there will be a farewell dinner to honour Zondo.

This comes after deputy chief justice Mandisa Maya was announced to succeed Zondo last month, making her South Africa’s first female chief justice.

Born in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Zondo matriculated from St Mary’s Seminary before studying law at the University of Zululand, the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal), and later at the University of South Africa.

Zondo holds a B. Juris degree, an LLB degree, an LLM degree (cum laude) in labour law, a LLM degree with specialisation in commercial law, and a LLM degree in patent law.

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Zondo’s history in law fraternity

He served his articles of clerkship under Victoria Mxenge before she was assassinated by apartheid agents, and he practised as an attorney in Durban for many years before he was appointed as a judge of the labour court in 1997.

In April 1999, Zondo was appointed as a judge of the then Transvaal provincial division of the high court, and then he served as judge-president of the labour appeal court and labour court for close to 11 years. His term ended in April 2010.

The office said that during his term as judge-president, Zondo made strides in advancing racial and gender transformation in the labour appeal court.

“As judge-president of the labour appeal court and labour court chief justice, Zondo has also given many acting opportunities to women who were subsequently appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and the Constitutional Court,” the office said.

In 2012, he was appointed as a justice of the Constitutional Court for 12 years, and in 2017, Zondo was appointed as the deputy chief justice.

Appointed as chief justice in April 2022

In January 2018, Zondo was appointed as the chairperson of the State Capture Commission, known as the Zondo Commission, and as of 1 April 2022, he served as the chief justice of South Africa.

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During his tenure as the Zondo Commission chairperson from 2018 to 2022, he successfully led and submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa a six-part report in which he made various findings and recommendations.

“This is no ordinary commission of enquiry. It was a commission whose work will have a lasting impact on our democracy and our country,” Ramaphosa said when addressing the nation on 23 October 2023.

The office added that when Zondo took office as chief justice, the representation of women among the heads of court was very low, as there were only two out of 14.

“During his term, there was a dramatic increase in women who were appointed as heads of court. Altogether, five women were appointed as heads of court. They were judge-president Thobo Poyo-Dlwati (KZN), judge-president S Mphahlele (Mpumalanga), justice Mahube Molemela (as president of the SCA), and chief justice-designate Maya,” the office said.

The office said Zondo also defended the judiciary whenever it was being “unfairly attacked” by, among others, politicians.

“The South African judiciary wishes justice Zondo well as he begins a new chapter of his life. We salute you for an outstanding career and selfless service to the nation,” the office concluded.

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