By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday appointed Justice Mandisa Maya as the Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa.
Maya’s appointment at the highest court in the land takes effect from 1 September 2022.
In a statement presidency says, Ramaphosa made this appointment in accordance with Section 174(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
Ramaphosa says Justice Maya brings more than two decades of a distinguished career as a judicial officer.
She is the first woman to hold the positions of Deputy President and President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
“Justice Maya will contribute to the ongoing transformation process of the judiciary. Her ascendency to the apex court will serve as a beacon of hope for scores of young women and make them believe that South Africa is a country of possibilities regardless of gender, social or economic circumstances,” Ramaphosa said.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended the appointment of Mandisa Maya as Deputy Chief Justice.
During her interview in June, Maya told the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that South Africa had never had a woman in its highest echelons. She said she was the “furthest, as the president of the SCA, that women have come close to smelling what it is to actually just be in charge of your institution and be given an equal opportunity as your male counterparts to show your prowess, your skills”.
She said the JSC had an opportunity to endorse Ramaphosa’s nomination of her as deputy chief justice so that “women are pushed even higher in the rank of leadership in this institution”.