The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo for the role of deputy chief justice.
Mlambo was interviewed by the JSC on Wednesday in the race to be the country’s deputy chief justice.
He competed against Free State judge president Cagney Musi and Northern Cape judge president Pule Tlaletsi. The position has been vacant since Mandisa Maya became the chief justice in September 2024.
After the interview processes, the JSC recommended Mlambo as the suitable candidate to be Maya’s deputy.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will now consider the suggestion and appoint a new deputy chief justice. The president has in the past chosen not to appoint a candidate recommended by the JSC though, opting to appoint Raymond Zondo to the chief justice position — after the JSC had recommended Maya.
Maya later took over from Zondo.
The recommendation has been made at a crucial time when the government is finalising the fine print of the establishment of the judiciary as an independent institution.
The judiciary will no longer fall under the department of justice & constitutional development but will be independent like other arms of state, the executive and the legislature.
Mlambo, who lost out in the chief justice race in 2022, leads the biggest division in the country that has 46 judges.
During the interview, he put the spotlight on his leadership of the judiciary’s IT committee and ensuring the Gauteng division implemented the court online system smoothly under his watch.
The digitalisation of the administrative system still has to be implemented nationally.
He committed to include other provinces left behind in the innovation amid the chief justice office’s budget constraints.
Mlambo is being challenged in court for a management decision he took in dealing with mounting caseloads in the Gauteng high courts.
His directive introducing mandatory mediation for civil cases has been contested by lawyers dealing with Road Accident Fund (RAF) cases who have tried to get the Constitutional Court to rule that the decision is unlawful judicial overreach.
The applications were refused without being heard, but will be contested in the high court.
While Mlambo’s decision was applauded, some in the legal community pointed out the real problem was a shortage of judges.
Of the three candidates, he was the oldest and has four years left before reaching retirement age.
Mlambo has been the Gauteng judge president for 13 years. He started as a labour court judge in 1997, went on to become a judge in the Gauteng division in 1999, and moved to the Supreme Court of Appeal four years later.
In 2010, he became judge president of the labour court and labour appeal court. He has been the head of Gauteng courts since 2012.
Update: July 3 2025
This story has been updated with new information.
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