By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended three candidates for the appointment to the bench of the Gauteng High Court.
The JSC has been interviewing candidates in Johannesburg this week, for vacant posts in South Africa’s superior courts. The interview process started on Monday and is expected to conclude on 11 October 2022.
The commission, which performs the functions of interviewing candidates for judicial posts and making recommendations for appointment to the president, on Thursday night announced its selection.
The JSC interviewed eight candidates for appointment to the bench of the Gauteng Division of the High Court.
The commission resolved to advise President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint Magistrate Rochelle Francis-Subbiah and advocates Jan Swanepoel and Stuart Wilson.
The candidates that didn’t make the cut were advocates John Holland-Müter, Mudunwazi Makamu, Zanele Ndlokovane and Sanet Van Aswegen and Magistrate Collen Matshitse.
Meanwhile KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge Piet Koen, who has presided over former president Jacob Zuma trial since May last year, was regarded as one of the strongest candidates to apply for one of five vacancies to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
But he was snubbed by the commission for a second time – after previously being slammed by then-chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng for his allegedly “extremely rude” conduct during a 2016 meeting.
Koen’s exclusion from the SCA shortlist does mean the Zuma prosecution will not be interrupted by him leaving his High Court post, and a replacement trial judge needing to be appointed.
Another notable exclusion from the JSC shortlist was that of Gauteng High Court Judge Sulet Potterill, who was the target of baseless attacks from Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane – after she ruled in favour of Minister Pravin Gordhan in his application to interdict Mkhwebane’s remedial action in her later discredited SARS “rogue unit” report.
After two days of interviews, judges Glenn Goosen, Pieter Meyer, Daisy Molefe, Sharise Weiner and Keoagile Elias Matojane made the cut.
The commission’s attention will turn to KwaZulu-Natal on Friday, when it interviews candidates for appointment to the province’s High Court and as its Judge President.