By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Judge Ramarumo Emerson Monama, who recently handed former police officer Rosemary Ndlovu six life sentences for multiple murders, has died after a short illness.
Monama recently presided over the trial against Ndlovu, whom he found guilty of orchestrating the murders of her partner and five family members to claim insurance payouts from policies she had taken out on them.
He sentenced her to life imprisonment for each of the six murders and also 10 years behind bars on each count of incitement to commit murder and an additional 10 years for the attempted murder of her mother.
Another high-profile case that Monama recently concluded was that of the Thulsie twins, Tony-Lee and Brandon Lee, which had been dragging on since 2016.
Monama also presided over the historic murder case of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol, who was killed in 1971.
The accused in the matter, apartheid-era police officer Joao Rodrigues, died in September last year before the matter could be concluded.
Gauteng Acting Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba confirmed the passing of Judge Monama.
In a statement Ledwaba said the Judges and staff of the Gauteng Division of the High Court were saddened to learn of the passing of the Judge Ramarumo Emerson Monama, who had been an active Judge in the Division since 2010.
Ledwaba said that after matric, Monama studied towards and obtained a Bachelor of Jurisprudence (B.iuris) degree at the University of the North in Limpopo. He later obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the University of the Witwatersrand.
“He served his articles at Webber Wentzel attorneys, where he became a qualified attorney. He was a founding member of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) – South Africa’s oldest human rights/public interest legal center – in 1978, together with lawyers such as Professor John Dugard and Halton Cheadle,” Ledwaba.
Ledwaba said Monama had been an active judge in the Gauteng division since 2010.
“His loss will be profoundly felt by his colleagues and the staff in the Gauteng Division of the High Court. May his soul rest in peace.”
Read the full statement from Judiciary of Republic of South Africa: Tribute to Judge Ramarumo Emerson Monama.