Justice Raymond Zondo has been appointed Chief Justice. Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Johannesburg - The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has welcomed the appointment of Raymond Zondo as Chief Justice, as well as the nomination of Mandisa Maya as Deputy Chief Justice.
The Foundation says Justice Zondo brings 25 years of untainted service to this post.
Together with Judge Mandisa Maya, the first woman to serve as the Judge President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Apex Court has a dynamic leadership team to deal with leading the judiciary through the challenging period ahead, it said.
Executive director at the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neeshan Balton welcomed the news of the appointment, adding that the appointment of Zondo as Chief Justice could bring much needed stability, certainty, and leadership to the judiciary.
Justice Zondo’s spirited public defence of the independence of the judiciary must be continued during his tenure as Chief Justice, he said.
“The appointment of Judge Raymond Zondo as Chief Justice comes at a time of politically motivated attacks on a judiciary by many who hope to escape the ’orange overalls’ that should be coming their way once all their Stalingrad tactics have been exhausted. It is our hope that Judge Raymond Zondo and Judge Mandisa Maya appointments will help ensure that the judiciary is ring fenced against external threats to its independence,” said Balton.
The Judicial Service Commission also welcomed the appointment of Justice Zondo to the position.
He takes over from Mogoeng Mogoeng who retired late last year as Chief Justice.
baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za
Political Bureau