The four candidates Ramaphosa has nominated for Deputy Chief Justice

President Cyril Ramaphosa has nominated four candidates for the vacant Deputy Chief Justice position, including Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo.

The Deputy Chief Justice position, the second most powerful judicial position in the country, has been vacant since 1 September 2024 after incumbent Justice Mandisa Maya was promoted to the position of Chief Justice.

Consultations

The other candidates nominated by Ramaphosa include Supreme Court of Appeal President Mahube Molemela, Free State Judge President Cagney Musi and Northern Cape Judge President Pule Tlaletsi.

The Presidency stated that Ramaphosa has initiated consultations with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and leaders of political parties in the National Assembly regarding the appointment of a Deputy Chief Justice.

“Section 174(3) of the constitution provides that the president, as head of the national executive, after consulting the Judicial Service Commission and the leaders of parties represented in the National Assembly, appoints the chief justice and the deputy chief justice.

“President Ramaphosa has in a written submission to Chief Justice Maya, who chairs the Judicial Service Commission, invited the Commission for its views on the suitability of four candidates being considered for appointment by the president,” the Presidency said.

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Allegations against Mlambo

A rumour about Mlambo burst into the open when JSC commissioners Dali Mpofu and EFF leader Julius Malema raised them during Mlambo’s interview on 3 February 2022.

Mpofu is currently the subject of a Legal Practice Council (LPC) investigation, over, among other complaints, unsubstantiated claims that Mlambo sexually harassed female judges.

“That you contravened the Code of Conduct by bringing the legal profession into disrepute when you on 2 February 2022, at the Judicial Service Commission interview of Judge President D Mlambo, descended into character assassination with allegations of a rumour that he was guilty of the sexual harassment of female aspiring judges and that you persisted with your questioning, without providing any evidence or detail on what evidence or facts you were basing your questions,” stated the LPC in a charge sheet against Mpofu earlier this month.

The judge president told the JSC he felt “pained” by the rumour and lamented that it had been raised in the interview.

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