Mandisa Maya, the head of the appeals court in South Africa, has been named as the nation’s deputy chief justice by President Cyril Ramaphosa, making her the first woman to hold the role.
In a tweet by the Presidency, her appointment is effective from September 1.
The tweet reads; “PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA APPOINTS JUDGE MAYA TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT President @CyrilRamaphosa has appointed Madam Justice Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya, current President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, as Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa with effect from 1 September 2022.”
After being interviewed for the job of chief justice, Justice Maya agreed to the president’s nomination in March.
She was nominated to the position of deputy chief justice until a subsequent interview for the job, while Raymond Zondo, who was then the deputy chief justice, was named the chief justice.
She was the lone applicant for the position who was interviewed last month, and the nation’s Judicial Service Commission declared it would recommend the president appoint her.
On June 20, the JSC conducted an interview with her, and a majority of members recommended that she be appointed. Her appointment was opposed by three commissioners.
Maya has the distinction of having authored two isiXhosa decisions. She was asked in her interview from last month why she decided to use her native tongue in the 2020 AfriForum vs. Unisa case, which featured the university’s decision to discontinue the use of Afrikaans as a medium of teaching.
She explained that she did so to show respect for all cultural identities in her response to North West Judge President Monica Leeuw. According to the judgment, Unisa’s stance was unconstitutional.
She had previously served as a judge in the Mthatha High Court, as a puisne judge of the SCA and as Deputy President of the SCA, as well as holding acting positions in various courts.
Mandisa Maya was born in Tsolo, Eastern Cape on March 20, 1964, the oldest of six children to two teachers. She grew up in King William’s Town in the former Ciskei Bantustan (homeland) under apartheid, and matriculated from St John’s College.
Mthatha and went on to obtain three degrees in law from the universities of the Transkei, the University of Natal and the Duke University in the United States from the years 1986 to 1990.
Maya holds honorary doctorates of law from a number of universities. She was elected the President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges, and in 2012 received the South African Women Lawyers Icon award for her role in empowering and mentoring women in both the judiciary and the broader legal profession.
