By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Justice Zukisa Laura Lumka Tshiqi of the Constitutional Court brought her distinguished twenty-one-year judicial career to a close on 31 May 2026.
She delivered her last judgment during a special sitting of the Constitutional Court held in her honour in Braamfotein.
The event was attended by judges from various courts, Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Chief Justice Zondo, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, and NPA head advocate Andy Mothibi.
Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo in paying tribute to her, said Justice Tshiqi has been a valued colleague and an important presence within this institution. That regal voice that you’ve just heard will forever be missed in this court chamber. Justice Tshiqi is personable and carries herself with restraint and discernment.
Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, on behalf of Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (Pabasa), joked that there were rumours he often appeared before the Constitutional Court just to see Justice Tshiqi.
“Part of it is true; all I was asked to come and tell you is that we love you and your family.”
Among the most notable was the 2015 Constitutional Court ruling in City Power v Grinpal Energy Management Services, where she affirmed that employment contracts automatically transfer under section 197 of the Labour Relations Act when municipal services are transferred as a going concern.
In another major ruling, Coughlan N.O. v Road Accident Fund, Justice Tshiqi overturned a Supreme Court of Appeal decision by finding that foster child grants should not be deducted from compensation claims for loss of support. The judgment reinforced the principle that social grants arise from the state’s constitutional obligations to vulnerable children.
More recently, in 2025, she penned the unanimous judgment in Van Wyk v Minister of Employment and Labour, a major decision on parental leave rights in South Africa.
The Constitutional Court found that provisions in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act unfairly discriminated on the basis of gender by reinforcing the idea that childcare responsibilities primarily belong to women.
The ruling introduced interim measures granting parents a shared entitlement of four months and ten days of parental leave while Parliament works to amend the legislation.
Justice Tshiqi joined the Bench on 25 July 2005 when she was appointed by the President of the Republic of South Africa as a Judge of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Johannesburg Local Division. Her appointment followed several stints as an Acting Judge of the High Court and the Labour Court between 2003 and 2004.
Her legal career began whilst studying towards her B Proc degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, when she was appointed a Legal Coordinator for the South African Council of Churches, a position she held from 1986 until her graduation in 1989.
In 1991, she completed her Articles of Clerkship at Neluheni Attorneys and was admitted as an attorney of the High Court. Following her admission, Justice Tshiqi was appointed as a Professional Assistant at Matlala Attorneys in 1991, where she was exposed to various areas of law. In the following year, she was appointed as the Litigation Officer and Trial Advocacy Trainer of the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) until 1994, when she opened her own practice.
Her exposure to varied areas of law during her fourteen years of practice stood her in good stead when she became a Judge. Having spent only two years as a Judge of the High Court, she was appointed as an Acting Judge of the Competition Appeal Court in 2007. She later joined the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) as an Acting Judge and in 2009, was permanently appointed as a Judge of Appeal. She served in the SCA for a decade – during which time she also served as an Acting Justice of the Constitutional Court – before taking up a permanent seat in the Constitutional Court on 1 October 2019.
Meanwhile, highly respected advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi is expected to begin a two-term acting stint at the Constitutional Court on Monday, 01 June 2026.