South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday appointed jurist Raymond Zondo as the country’s new chief justice with effect from April 1, reported Reuters.
The South African presidency confirmed the appointment in a statement released on Thursday, after a public selection process.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has, in accordance with Section 174(3) of the Constitution, decided to appoint Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the next Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa with effect from 1 April 2022,” reads the statement.
It said that the president took the decision after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission and leaders of parties in the National Assembly on four nominees for appointment as chief justice. Three other judges who were shortlisted for the post alongside Zondo were judges Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Mandisa Maya and Dunston Mlambo.
The chief justice is the South African judiciary’s highest-ranking member. He/she also heads the Constitutional Court.
Mandisa Maya, who is currently the Judge President of South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal, has been named as the new deputy chief justice of the country.
The 61-year-old Zondo has been serving as chief justice since the retirement of his predecessor Mogoeng Mogoeng last year. He has served as deputy chief justice at the Constitutional Court since 2017.
Zondo was the face of President Ramaphosa’s anti-corruption drive as he was selected to head a recent national inquiry into allegations of widespread corruption under former president Jacob Zuma who ruled the country between 2009 and 2018.
Last year, the South African Constitutional Court sentenced Zuma to 15 months imprisonment after he failed to appear at the Zondo corruption inquiry.
Zondo will begin serving as the chief justice on April 1st when the commission he chairs will prepare its fourth and final report on state corruption under Zuma. It is expected that the commission’s reports will bring the names of several former high-ranking officials to light.
