By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has resolved to recommend Johannesburg High Court Judge Leicester Adams as a permanent judge to fill the vacant position at the Electoral Court.
Judge Adams was the sole candidate for the position.
Judge Adams had been acting at this court during last year’s elections, but he was twice overlooked for a permanent position at the Electoral Court.
Facing several questions from Chief Justice Mandisa Maya during Tuesday’s interview, as well as questions from other panelists, Judge Adams appeared keen to take on the position.
Judge Adams described the workload at this court while he was in an acting capacity during the national elections as being hectic, but he said they were able to issue judgments within a week or two after hearing a matter.
He said while acting as a judge of the Electoral Court, he managed to write five or six judgments himself.
Minister of Justice Mamoloko Kubayi questioned Adams on his view regarding the modernisation of the voting system by introducing a digital voting system in future. She pointed out that while some welcomed this, others were concerned with issues such as online voter tampering and cybercrime.
Judge Adams responded that he thinks it is inevitable at some point and while there are advantages to this, one must be aware of the risks. He, however, believed that the IEC system was fit for its purpose.
The final decision will ultimately lie with President Cyril Ramaphosa who will consider the recommendations.
Meanwhile JSC has recommended only one candidate to the Labour Court bench, leaving two vacancies open. The successful canditate was lawyer Tapiwa Gandidze.
During her interview, Gandidze, who was born in Zimbabwe but is a South African citizen, was asked about cases she had handled that involved foreign nationals.
“I am not aware of any matter that I have worked on where there were foreign nationals involved. Maybe they were, but if the papers do not refer to the fact that they are foreign nationals, I have no way of knowing. When I sit as a judge, whether you are a South African or a foreign national, I am just applying the law. I look at the facts and I apply the law to the fact.”
Gandidze started her legal journey as a candidate attorney at Cliffe Dekker, now Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr. She then moved to Cheadle Thompson & Haysom where she climbed the corporate ladder between 2005 to 2022 and progressed from associate to Director. After spending a year as a director at Norton Rose Fulbright, she opened her own law firm in 2023 called Tapiwa Cecilia Gandidze Attorneys Inc. Throughout her law career the primary focus of her practice has been labour law.