Four women picked as Gauteng High Court judges
THERE were no surprises or upsets in the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC’s) choices for the Gauteng High Court announced yesterday, with four of the six new appointments being women.
Gauteng’s new judges are Labour Court Judge Annali Basson, former director of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies Raylene Keightley, specialist tax attorney Nelisa Mali, gender rights lawyer Lebogang Modiba, magistrate Thifhelimbilu Mudau and Johannesburg senior counsel Willem van der Linde.
Interviews for most of the newly recommended candidates were smooth overall, in particular that of Ms Modiba whose interview ended with Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke remarking that he would save his green Constitutional Court robe for her. “Very well done, young lady,” he said.
Justice Moseneke was chairing the JSC as Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng is abroad.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema, who is also a JSC commissioner, was not allowed to participate in the selection of judges for the Gauteng High Court because he was absent on Monday. Mr Malema participated in the interviews for the Northern Cape yesterday.
Ms Modiba’s voice wobbled when she described her impoverished childhood in Alexandra township and losing her mother at a young age. The cold winters and her phobia of rats meant she used to escape to the library, said the Harvard graduate.
Candidates’ childhoods and upbringings have been a strong feature of this round of JSC interviews, with Justice Moseneke talking of “the inarticulate premise”, which he described as “that part of a judge’s consciousness that comes with who she or he is”, and which “intrudes into decision making”. It applied to all judges.
In Mr van der Linde’s muchanticipated interview, when asked about his highly regarded education, he said he recognised his upbringing was privileged.
He said this went further than education: “There is a much greater reality out there; of business, and briefing patterns, and big business and who is driving big business.”
Mr van der Linde had a lot of support from Johannesburg’s advocates, who said he was one of the best commercial law advocates in the country. The JSC’s not appointing him the previous time he applied — in 2010 — elicited anger and criticism.
Once again, Mr van der Linde had to answer a number of ques- tions on his 14-year membership of Afrikaner youth organisation Ruiterwag, known as the youth wing of the Broederbond.
He said the Ruiterwag portrayed itself as an Afrikaner “thinktank”, which — as a student — he thought was “cool”. But he conceded “quite readily” that it took too long for him to “absorb” that the organisation was “only white, only male and secret”. The Ruiterwag was “indefensible”, he said.
Mr van der Linde had a long interaction with Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, which was interrupted by Justice Moseneke, saying he had to put an end to the “love affair”.
Ms Keightley, Ms Mali and Judge Basson all had fairly smooth interviews, with only a few bumps. Judge Basson had to deal with a comment, from the Pretoria Bar, that she had “not proven to be a progressive jurist”. She said she did not understand the comment as her commitment to constitutional values long predated the enactment of the Constitution .
Ms Keightley was asked why she had described renowned antiapartheid lawyer Victoria Mxenge as “black” and whether her race mattered. She said it did not matter, and that the statement was the kind of “slip” that revealed where she, and everyone in SA, was coming from.
Ms Mali was praised for specialising in tax law — a “road less travelled” for black woman lawyers — but had to refute the criticism her experience was limited to tax.
Mr Mudau had to deal with criticism that he had dealt badly with the urgent court, wrongly deciding that matters were not urgent. He said the comment was “unfortunate” and untrue.
He conceded it took too long for him to ‘absorb’ the organisation was ‘only white, male and secret’