Chief justice welcomes appointment of deputy chief justice Dunstan Mlambo
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment on Thursday.
The appointment follows the Judicial Service Commission's (JSC's) resolution on July 3 to advise the president that Mlambo was suitable for appointment as the deputy chief justice. The JSC took this decision after also interviewing Free State judge president Cagney Musi and Northern Cape judge president Pule Tlaletsi.
'Justice Mlambo brings to this role a wealth of experience, steadfast leadership, and an unwavering dedication to constitutional values,' Maya said.
She said his distinguished service as judge president of the Gauteng division of the high court and in previous positions demonstrated his legal excellence, administrative skill and commitment to justice.
Maya said the judiciary looked forward to working with him in his new role in advancing the rule of law, safeguarding judicial independence and ensuring access to justice for all South Africans.
TimesLIVE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
14 hours ago
- The Herald
JSC endorses tribunal findings of gross misconduct against judge Makhubele
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Friday confirmed the January findings by the judicial conduct tribunal that Gauteng high court judge Nana Makhubele was guilty of gross misconduct. The commission has resolved to refer the matter to the speaker of the National Assembly to recommend removal proceedings for the judge in terms of the constitution. The commission, without the MPs, met in July to consider the contents of the report of the tribunal, which had inquired into allegations of judicial misconduct against Makhubele after a complaint by #UniteBehind, a coalition of movements comprising various nonprofit organisations. The complaint was made as Part A and Part B. Part A concerned Makhubele's acceptance of appointment and provision of services as a chairperson of the interim board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) after she was appointed a judge with effect from January 1 2018. Part B related to Makhubele's conduct during her tenure as chairperson of Prasa, that she failed to act honourably and avoid the appearance of impropriety and acted in a manner unbecoming of judicial office. TimesLIVE reported that the complainant said during her time as chair, she pushed through the settlement of claims worth about R59m for companies in the Siyaya group, owned by Makhensa Mabunda, and on terms very favourable to the group. Mabunda was politically connected to former Prasa CEO Lucky Montana, who the state capture commission's report has recommended for prosecution arising out of tenders he awarded at Prasa. The settlement of the claims went against legal advice from her own legal affairs division, which she sidelined, #UniteBehind alleged. In its decision, the tribunal said there was no record of the board taking a resolution to settle these claims. The tribunal found Makhubele guilty of gross misconduct in parts A and B of the complaint. Before considering the matter, the commission — constituted without the MPs — called for written representations from Makhubele and #UniteBehind — and both parties filed representations. Makhubele denied the allegations in the complaint and alleged that Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo had consented to her starting her appointment as a judge in April 2018 rather than her official appointment date of January 1 2018. The tribunal had found that Makhubele's version that Mlambo had agreed she would not commence her duties as a judge on January 1 2018 was most unlikely. 'In the commission's view, the facts set out in the tribunal's report clearly support the conclusion that judge Makhubele is guilty of gross misconduct in respect of the allegations set out in Part A,' the commission said in its report on Friday. The commission also found the evidence on which Makhubele was found guilty in terms of Part B clearly established gross misconduct in the form of dishonesty. TimesLIVE
The Citizen
14 hours ago
- The Citizen
Government finalising support package for companies vulnerable to US tariffs
The government says it is finalising a support package for companies, producers and workers affected by the tariffs on South African exports to the United States (US). This as the Trump-led administration stands firm on imposing a 30% tariff on local exports. Zululand Observer reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa said, while they continue to engage the US on the subject, a support package, to be detailed at a later stage, will be in place to assist those vulnerable to the reciprocal tariffs. 'The reciprocal tariffs have been imposed by the US on a significant number of its trade partners and South Africa has not been spared. South Africa will continue negotiating with the US regarding the 30% tariff announced by the US, which will come into effect on or after 12:01 eastern daylight time, seven days after August 1,' said Ramaphosa. He said all applicable exceptions published in the previous US Executive Order are set to remain in force. These exceptions covered products such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber articles, certain critical minerals, stainless steel scrap and energy and energy products. 'South Africa and US trade relations are complementary in nature, and South African exports do not pose a threat to US industry. Importantly, SA exports to the US contain inputs from the African continent and contribute to intra-Africa trade. 'South Africa will continue to pursue all diplomatic efforts to safeguard its national interests. It is important that as a country, we keep our people at work and our companies producing some of the high-quality products destined for many parts of the world,' said Ramaphosa. He said they are exploring alternative markets as part of a diversification strategy in hopes of creating resilience of the country's economy. An export support desk has also been established to provide updates on development and provide advisory services to exporters. 'The details are to be published by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition on its website,' said Ramaphosa. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on
The Citizen
15 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘Dishonest' Judge Makhubele found guilty and faces impeachment
JSC upholds Tribunal ruling. Now Parliament will have to decide Makhubele's fate. Suspended Gauteng Judge Nana Makhubele is facing impeachment after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) found her guilty on two charges of gross misconduct. The complaints – instigated by #UniteBehind – were that she sat as a judge at the same time that she was chair of the Prasa interim board and, while there, she involved herself in state capture. The latter was in relation to matters involving the Siyaya Group of companies in that she authorised, in an alleged 'secret settlement deal', payments from Prasa to Siyaya of R56-million while sidelining the internal legal team. Judge Makhubele faces impeachment In a statement released on Friday, the small JSC (sitting without members of Parliament) said it had considered the report of the Tribunal established to probe the allegations. 'Prior to considering the matter, the commission called for written representations from Judge Makhubele and #UniteBehind. 'These were duly considered along with the report of the Tribunal, the record and the core bundle,' it said. The complaint in Part A was that Judge Makhubele served in a position which undermined the independence of the judiciary. In doing so, she breached the separation of powers, failing to sever professional ties on her appointment to the judiciary. And that she occupied an office for profit and requested special dispensation regarding her appointment. Judge Makhubele denied the allegations and alleged the (then) Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo had consented to her starting her appointment in April 2018 rather than 1 January 2018. ALSO READ: Judge Nana Makhubele found guilty of gross misconduct The Tribunal found that on 2 November 2017, Mlambo informed Makhubele that she had been appointed and would begin work on 1 January 2018. She had previously been informed by Mlambo that her name would be forwarded as one of the successful candidates. In November, she appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee of Transport and disclosed that she had been appointed as a judge and would assume her position in January. In December 2017, she emailed Mlambo with a request that she only start work on 1 April. His response was that the President had already made the appointment. At a meeting that month he informed her that it was too late to change her starting date. Mlambo's evidence was corroborated by his deputy, Judge Aubrey Ledwaba. Abrupt resignation The Tribunal, chaired by retired judge Achmat Jappie, said it was common cause that she had made no mention of her appointment at Prasa to Mlambo. She failed to commence her duties on 1 January. Her version, that Mlambo had agreed to her starting later, was 'most unlikely' and her evidence 'was deliberately misleading and unambiguously insufficient' to cast any doubt on the credible evidence of Mlambo. The JSC said these findings clearly supported the conclusion that Judge Makhubele was guilty of gross misconduct and that she had been dishonest. READ MORE: Suspended judge Makhubele explains how she landed Prasa job Regarding the complaint in Part B, #UniteBehind had alleged that her conduct during her tenure as chairperson of the Prasa board was dishonest, lacking integrity and unethical. The Tribunal said the facts were that she took up the position at the end of October 2017. Then she 'abruptly resigned' in March 2018. Prior to her appointment, there were four claims by different entities within the Siyaya Group that were vigorously defended by Prasa. Judge Makhubele's version problematic Judge Makhubele alleged that the board had taken a resolution to settle these claims but was unable to produce the proof of this. She personally conveyed the decision to Francois Botes, an advocate who was acting on behalf of the Siyaya entities. She gave Botes correspondence to assist him to obtain default judgment against Prasa. The Tribunal's evidence leader called four witnesses regarding these allegations. Judge Makhubele disputed their evidence but provided no counter evidence. 'The Tribunal concluded that on the evidence before it, the version of Judge Makhubele was intrinsically problematic, inconsistent and amounted to a bare denial in the face of vastly credible evidence to the contrary on crucial aspects of the matter,' the JSC said in its statement on Friday. READ MORE: Suspended judge denies fault in serving dual government role 'The Tribunal specifically noted the absence of a record indicating who had taken the decision to settle the Siyaya matters as well as her conduct in assisting Adv Botes to obtain default judgment against Prasa.' The JSC said the Tribunal had found her guilty of only misconduct in this regard. 'The allegations underpinning these charges relate to dishonest conduct which qualifies as gross misconduct,' it said. The JSC is expected to recommend to the National Assembly that Makhubele be impeached. This requires a two thirds majority vote. The President must then formally remove her from office. This article was republished from GroundUp under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here.
