President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo as deputy chief justice.
Mlambo was recommended for the role earlier this month by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The position has been vacant since Mandisa Maya became chief justice in September 2024.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya announced on Thursday that the president had appointed Mlambo to be second in command for the country’s judiciary.
“Ramaphosa has, in accordance with section 174(3) of the constitution, decided to appoint justice Dunstan Mlambo as deputy chief justice of the Republic of South Africa, with effect from Friday August 1,” he said.
The announcement was made on the same day acting chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga retired from the bench.
“The president has also expressed to the chief justice his appreciation for the transparent, inclusive and robust process undertaken by the JSC. This process exemplified the commission’s commitment to upholding the nation’s constitutional values,” Magwenya said.
Mlambo competed against Free State judge president Cagney Musi and Northern Cape judge president Pule Tlaletsi for the position.
The recommendation has been made at a crucial time when the government is finalising 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 led the biggest division in the country, which has 46 judges. He has been the Gauteng judge president for 13 years.
Under his leadership, the Gauteng division implemented the court online system in 2022, which rolled out filing of court papers online, and has been running smoothly.
Mlambo during his interview by the JSC committed to include other provinces left behind in the innovation amid the chief justice office’s budget constraints.
The promotion comes as 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.
Mlambo started as a labour court judge in 1997. He 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.
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