By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended Adv Sally-Ann Collett – Adv Nolubabalo Cengani-Mbakaza and Prof Nomthandazo Ntlama-Makhanya to fill three vacancies in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court.
Their recommendation comes after the interviews were halted with immediate effect as the commission moved to address the conflict of interest.
In a brief statement, the JSC confirmed that the process will restart from the beginning on Thursday, 16 April 2026.
“All the candidates have been informed of these changes,” said the commission.
The JSC has not yet disclosed the nature of the potential conflict of interest but indicated that restarting the process is necessary to safeguard the integrity of judicial appointments.
“This has led to the interviews being cancelled. The interviews for this division will start afresh tomorrow, Thursday, 16 April 2026,” read the statement.
Collet is an advocate and member of the Bhisho Society of Advocates.
She obtained her BA and LLB from Rhodes University. Collett has practised, primarily for the Bhisho Bar, since her admission in 1986 and earned a Certificate in Arbitration from the Association of Arbitrators in 2012.
She has served as acting Judge in the Eastern Cape Division several times since July 2022 and is a former Commissioner of Small Claims Court, a position she held from 1998 to 2009. However, Collett’s legal career expands beyond courtroom representation. She is a member of SAWLA, likely motivated by her early experiences as the only woman at the Pietermaritzburg Bar, where she encountered gender bias and economic marginalisation. At that time, Collett often assisted in criminal pro deo, pro bono appeals, legal aid, and public interest litigation, supporting appeals of clients facing the possibility of a death sentence in the Appellate Division during the late 1980s and early 1990s. While based in the Ciskei after the introduction of their Bill of Rights, Collett built her practice on bridging the gap between criminal law and constitutional rights and eventually developed a civil practice.
Cengani–Mbakaza is a Regional Court Magistrate in the Eastern Cape.
If courtroom experience were a marathon, Cengani has run it from the starting blocks straight through to the high benches. She began her legal journey in 2000 as a prosecutor, just a year after completing her LLB at the University of Transkei (now known as Walter Sisulu University). Within three years, she had climbed from district to regional courts, and by 2003, she was a state advocate, cutting her teeth on criminal litigation before turning her attention to the judiciary in 2006, a career she has now devoted two decades to – longer than many members of Gen Z have been alive.
Her judicial path has been steady and wide-ranging. From magistrate in 2006, to senior magistrate in 2013, to regional magistrate in 2015, also serving as a commissioner at the Small Claims Court. From April 2023 to November 2025, she has acted in the High Court for over 61 weeks, sitting across criminal and civil matters, both action and motion proceedings, including civil appeals, producing an impressive 70 judgments during this time.
Ntlama-Makhanya is a Professor of Public Law at the University of Fort Hare.
Prof Ntlama-Makhanya’s journey moves from humble, grassroots beginnings to publishing scholarly papers, teaching the theory of law, and delivering judgments, all without having ever practised as an attorney or advocate. Ntlama-Makhanya is a nationally recognised scholar in constitutional law and human rights, so much so that she was voted to be one of the Winners in the Category of Law and Justice for the 2025 Mail and Guardian Power of Women Achievers Award.
After obtaining her B. Juris from the University of Fort Hare in 1997, Professor Ntlama-Makhanya immediately embarked on an academic career as a Junior Lecturer, teaching Criminal Procedure and the Law of Evidence at her Alma Mater.
Later, she coordinated the UNESCO Oliver Tambo Chair of Human Rights at Fort Hare between 2002 and 2004, facilitating training programs for government officials, community organisations, and traditional leadership structures. She then joined the South African Human Rights Commission as a researcher, where she focused on equality, non-discrimination, and human rights issues relating to gender, disability, and race.
Meanwhile the JSC shifted focus to the Western Cape Division of the High Court, where five vacancies need to be filled.
The Western Cape bench has, in recent years, seen the departure of a number of senior judges through retirements, promotions, and the impeachment of a former Judge President. As a result, these appointments will play an important role in shaping the court’s future capacity and leadership.