Judge President of the Gauteng High Court Division Dunstan Mlambo says he is alive to the need for gender and racial diversity in the country’s judiciary.
Mlambo is currently being interviewed for the position of the country’s Chief Justice by the Judicial Service Commission in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Responding to questions regarding gender transformation, Mlambo affirmed the position of his fellow contender SCA President Justice Mandisa Maya that South Africa had long been ready for a female Chief Justice, a competent judge who happened to be female.
Mlambo says his record, heading Legal Aid South Africa and the Gauteng bench is proof of his commitment.
“When I took over Gauteng there were 49 male judges and 15 female judges today we have 41 male judges and 38 female judges. I want to believe I have done my bit to advance gender transformation in the Gauteng Bench. So yes, I will continue my programme to advance that but I think a holistic programme is the way to go,” says Mlambo.
He says although South Africa’s judiciary is functional and upholds the Constitution, it has challenges that it should overcome.
“The judiciary is attacked on a number of fronts its independence and impartiality are always at stake and attacked and this is a function of a polarized political space. And you also have unfounded claims of corruption against members of the judiciary but more worrying is that there is corruption growing in judicial operations corruption by judicial officers. I want to state that upfront, but corruption in terms of the usage and circulation of fraudulent court orders,” says Mlambo.
Live proceedings of Judge President Dunstan Mlambo’s JSC interview:
