DUNSTAN MLAMBO'S APPOINTMENT AS DEPUTY CHIEF JUSTICE IN 2025

In April 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa nominated Mlambo JP as a candidate for appointment as South Africa's next Deputy Chief Justice in July -- and naturally since the two of them are as thick as thieves.

A note on Karyn Maughan's article about this for News24.

The JSC recommended Mlambo JP for the post following its interview of him on 2 July, during which he repeatedly fretted over the corruption charges he'd just survived (for the time being) and implicitly threatened this complainant with professional sanctions for having levelled them.

Two days later, Legalbrief explained the JSC's recommendation, quoting 'a JSC member who spoke on condition of anonymity': 'the commission’s unambiguous endorsement of Mlambo was necessary redress for the unjustified attacks on his character and integrity that he endured in 2022. ... "We’ve corrected a major injustice done over three years ago. That’s what matters about this appointment." Another JSC source agreed ... Mlambo ... had shown ... profound "moral courage" in his years on the Bench.' Really? Hadn't one of the interviewing Commissioners, 'Ngcukaitobi pointed out that everyone in the JSC recognised that sexual harassment was an issue in the judiciary' -- with Maya CJ herself agreeing that all courts need a sex code to keep male judges' flies buttoned? And which was published soon afterwards.

The selection process was a laughable sham. Mlambo JP's rival applicants for the gig, also nominated by Ramaphosa, were Betty Molemela, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal; Cagney Musi, Judge President of the Free State Division of the High Court; and Pule Tlaletsi, Judge President of the Northern Cape Division of the High Court.

Molemela P pulled out before the interviews for vague, unexplained 'personal reasons'. Probably because she realised she'd been nominated for decorative purposes only and that her prospects of being recommended were a round zero because there was scant possibility of another woman getting appointed Deputy Chief Justice after Mandisa Maya moved up into the Chief Justice post.

Molemela P's withdrawal from the running left Mlambo JP up against what looked like two peers in rank, but again, Ramaphosa had clearly nominated them for appearance's sake only; no-one really believed they stood a chance against everyone's favourite.

Who could have failed to notice that Ramaphosa conspicuously didn't nominate a single Constitutional Court judge -- all senior to Mlambo JP -- for the Deputy Chief Justice post, since the whole thing had been so obviously stitched-up to shoo in the guy he wanted.

On 31 July 2025, after his selection by the JSC, Ramaphosa appointed Mlambo JP Deputy Chief Justice with effect from 1 August, the following day.

JSC chairperson Maya CJ will have then delegated Mlambo DCJ to chair the Judicial Conduct Committee in the normal course under section 8(3) of the Judicial Service Commission Act, in which event the fox will be in the henhouse and an unconvicted criminal with zero professional and personal scruples will be in charge of disciplining other delinquent judges, including in two pending cases in which he's implicated or interested. 

Welcome to the judiciary in the New South Africa.

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