Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) president Mandisa Maya is a step closer to becoming SA's first female deputy chief justice following an interview that lasted more than four hours on Monday.
Maya, who was nominated for the position by President Cyril Ramaphosa, was interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to test her fitness to be chief justice Raymond Zondo’s second in charge.
After hours of questioning, the JCS announced it would recommend for her to be appointed.
Maya, who attended the interview virtually, entered the hot seat for the second time after losing her bid to become the country’s first female chief justice earlier this year.
Commissioner Glynnis Breytenbach asked Maya why she had opted not to sit on a matter involving Western Cape judge president John Hlope, who was found guilty of misconduct for trying to sway two judges in former president Jacob Zuma’s case.
“If you are appointed in this job and become deputy chief justice you’d have to chair the judicial conduct committee. In the matter of John Hlope you chose to recuse yourself,” said Breytenbach.
She said Maya had explained her recusal by mentioning that Hlope was her friend.
Maya denied this, saying: “I’m not friends with JP Hlophe. He is someone I have known for a very long time who was there for me during a difficult time of my life.”
Maya said Hlophe had invited her to have meals while in Cape Town, adding that based on her understanding of the laws of recusal she felt it necessary not to get involved with the case.
The panel of commissioners quizzed Maya on various things, including her credentials, cases she had presided over, her administrative capabilities and vision to transform the judiciary.
Advocate Sesi Baloyi asked whether the SCA’s decision to go back to face-to-face sessions reflected a reluctance to move with the time.
Maya said during lockdown, the SCA had held a number of hybrid court sessions which she supported but they experienced challenges with internet and phone connection.
“I’m at the SCA now and I’m using my own router because the courts’ internet is highly unreliable. On one matter we had to rely on counsel to borrow us his router,” Maya said.
She said the SCA, which is one of the upper courts in the country, did not even have a simple Telkom line, adding that all staff members, including cleaners, were forced to use their cellphones.
She said online court sessions improved access to justice, adding that she would continue to do her best with the limited resources until the situation was resolved.
Commissioner Narend Singh asked Maya how she felt about the continued appointment of males in top positions in the judiciary.
Maya expressed her deep disappointment in the country’s failure to achieve transformation despite having a progressive constitution.
“I’m the only woman head of court at the moment and this body has an opportunity today to change this dismal picture, at least in so far as this one vacancy is concerned. SA has never had a woman in its highest echelons,” Maya said.
Commissioner Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula commended Maya for writing a landmark judgment in Xhosa in a case involving Unisa and AfriForum, saying it would inspire others not to shy away from writing judgments in other indigenous languages.
Maya was also asked to respond to questions about her promise to develop a sexual harassment policy.
She said handling such cases in the judiciary had been difficult because the judiciary does not have such a document, while its code of conduct did not deal with the issue.
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