Johannesburg, Mar 10 (PTI): Raymond Zondo, who chaired the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that fingered the Gupta brothers as having looted millions from parastatal organisations before fleeing the country, has been appointed the next Chief Justice of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday.
President Ramaphosa made the announcement following discussions with the Judicial Service Commission, which interviewed four judges shortlisted for the positions.
He appointed experienced jurist Zondo as the country’s new chief justice effective April 1.
“The inclusive process of selecting the next Chief Justice demonstrated not only the value that South Africans place on the judiciary, but also the depth of experience and capability within the senior ranks of the judiciary,” Ramaphosa said.
“The position of Chief Justice carries a great responsibility in our democracy. As the head of the judiciary, the Chief Justice is a guardian of our Constitution and the laws adopted by the freely elected representatives of the people. The Chief Justice stand as the champion of the rights of all South Africans and bears responsibility for ensuring equal access to justice. I have every confidence that Justice Zondo will acquit himself with distinction in this position,” the President added.
Zondo, 61, has been the acting chief justice since the retirement of his predecessor Mogoeng Mogoeng last year.
Justice Zondo was first appointed as a judge of the Labour Court in 1997 and was Judge President of the Labour and Labour Appeals courts between 2000 and 2010. He has been a judge of the Constitutional Court since 2012 and was appointed as Deputy Chief Justice in 2017.
He holds a Juris degree from the University of Zululand and obtained his LLB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. He also holds an LLM (cum laude) from the University of South Africa and another with a specialisation in commercial law.
Ramaphosa said the vacancy created in the position of Deputy Chief Justice through Zondo’a appointment would be filled by one of the other three candidates and the only woman on the shortlist, Justice Mandisa Maya, subject to the process outlined in Section 174(3) of the Constitution.
Zondo had earlier publicly acknowledged the role of a South African Indian businessman in ensuring that he completed his education and rose to the position that he now occupies.
In a video that went viral on social media, Zondo explained how businessman Sulaiman Bux, who ran a store in Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal province, had come to the aid of his family’s dire financial situation when he could not afford to study law.
Zondo emotionally said that after he completed his studies three years later, he returned to repay Moosa for his generosity, but the businessman asked him to rather use it to assist other students in need.
Bux said at the time that he did not want any recognition for what he had done, with Zondo saying that he would never forget the gesture. PTI FH AMS AMS
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