“Conflict of interest” concerns have derailed a marathon day of interviews to fill three judicial vacancies in the Eastern Cape division of the high court, forcing the process to start from scratch on Thursday.
The interviews in Sandton — part of a broad process to fill 15 vacancies in the SA judicial system — were aimed at filling three positions in the Mthatha and Makhanda high courts.
A total of 10 candidates were due to be interviewed on Wednesday, but after the third candidate wrapped up at around lunch time, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) issued a statement, saying it had learnt of a “possible conflict of interest”, and further interviews on Wednesday were cancelled.
“The interviews for this division will start afresh tomorrow [Thursday],” the JSC said.
No further details about the suspected conflict of interest were divulged.
Earlier on Wednesday, veteran Eastern Cape advocate, magistrate and acting judge Sally Ann Collett, known for her nation-building work, appeared to wow the panelists.
The proceedings were led by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and participating commissioners including justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane, and various legal and political representatives.
Collett, who was the second candidate to be interviewed, graduated from Rhodes University with a BA LLB.
She said she had worked thereafter as an advocate on criminal, civil, labour and constitutional cases, with a substantial portion of pro bono (free) matters.
She had sat as a magistrate in all the judicial divisions of the Eastern Cape, and had been sitting as an acting judge in the province since the end of March.
Replying to a question from Mabuyane, Collett said she had firm ideas as to how she would make a difference were she appointed as a judge in the Eastern Cape.
She said she would focus first on procedure, preventing backlogs and ensuring judgments were clear and prompt.
“I would also focus on how the work of the courts are conducted. Ubuntu would be paramount in the sense that it embodies respect, dignity and humanity.
“This approach would make the courts feel more accessible to the people of the Eastern Cape. It would help reaffirm the faith of the community in the courts.
“It is incredibly important that the courts are recognised as places where justice is done, but also where the litigants are treated with respect, and where they understand their rights and what is unfolding.”
Pressed on the death penalty and the call by many for it to be reinstituted, she said she recognised the escalation in crime in SA that underpinned these calls.
“But I believe the penalties we have are adequate and in line with our constitution,” she said.
Law Society of SA representative Maboku Mangena said he was impressed by Collett’s replies to the questions.
“With people like you, there is hope for our country,” Mangena told her.
According to a publication by research and advocacy project “Judges Matter”, during the 1994 democratic elections, Collett served as a legal officer for the Independent Electoral Commission and represented clients before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
She was also invited by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to address concerns about procedural fairness in the TRC process.
“Despite practising as an advocate for 40 years and gaining vast amounts of experience over the years, she has peculiarly still not received senior counsel status. It will be interesting to see if the JSC takes issue with this,” added the publication.
During the JSC interviews earlier in the day, Mabuyane asked the first candidate, Nolubabalo Cengani-Mbakaza, what shape the Eastern Cape judicial system was in — and how she planned to improve it.
She said her work as an acting judge in the Mthatha high court had revealed to her several serious yet solvable problems.
“For example there was the loss of files. On one occasion, out of 168 matters on the roll, we only did a lousy 38 matters using the conventional method.
“In other words, the [digital] e-justice system works perfectly. Therefore the loss of files and court orders is going to be a thing of the past.”
The third candidate, the regional court president in the Eastern Cape, Mziwonke Dunywa, was applauded for his extensive experience as a magistrate presiding over criminal matters, but pressed on whether he had sufficient civil and constitutional experience.
He said in his view, he did. “I have been an acting judge since 2021. And I’ve been doing civil cases.
“On constitutional law ... I have dealt with the constitution left, right and centre,” he said.
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