Long roll of tough calls for Ledwaba
MAKING THE CALL: Judge Aubrey Ledwaba on Friday criticised former NPA boss Mokotedi Mpshe for dropping corruption charges against Zuma JUDGE Aubrey Ledwaba is no stranger to high-profile cases.
Since his appointment in 2013 as deputy judge president of the High Court in Pretoria, Ledwaba has found himself in the thick of things.
Pretoria-born Ledwaba, appointed to the bench in 2005, will next month conclude sentencing proceedings against Oscar Pistorius after the Paralympic gold medallist’s failed application to appeal against his murder conviction at the Constitutional Court.
Three years ago the 53-yearold married father of three told a Judicial Service Commission panel interviewing him for his current position that he did not believe judges should only be allowed to adjudicate in their particular areas of expertise or preference. When it came to high-profile, sensitive or political cases, he reportedly said, a judge should be allocated according to what would give confidence to the community.
Ledwaba earned his BProc at the University of the North in 1984 and worked as a public prosecutor before moving to private practice. He is vicechairman of the National Council for Correctional Services.
Two years ago he intervened and sought to broker peace in a public falling out between fellow Pretoria jurist Judge John Murphy and senior counsel William Mokhari.
Last year Ledwaba was one of the three judges who granted the South African Litigation Centre’s application to compel the government to arrest President Omar al-Bashir while the Sudanese leader was in South Africa.
In the latest matter, Ledwaba was assisted by judges Cynthia Pretorius and Selewe Mothle.