The former Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), Judge Khayelihle Mthiyane, has been described as a person who loved his family.
Speaking at his funeral service in Umhlanga, family members have said despite being very busy, Judge Mthiyane always made time to spend time with his wife and children.
They say when his wife S’thandiwe MaGumede was very sick, Judge Mthiyane took care of her.
She passed away in hospital a week before him.
Colleague pays tribute
One of the SCA Justices, Yvonne Mbatha, has recounted how the late Judge Mthiyane came to look for her on her first day as an acting member of the SCA.
Judge Mbatha says Judge Mthiyane mentored her over the years and encouraged her to stay on at the SCA when she felt like giving up.
She has also described him as a supportive colleague who treated everyone with respect and dignity.
“He was a pillar of strength to all his colleagues including the senior one, a calming presence and a unifying force in the court filled with difficult intellectual giants. This is evidence by outpouring grief from his colleagues across the course and the gender lines, who have variously described him and I quote, as an exceptional human being, a most treasured colleague, a good warm and king man, someone who made it his task to see to the welfare of his junior colleague making sure that they were not overwhelmed by heavy work load to a breaking point, always willing to lend a patient ear and helping hand,” says Mbatha.
#RIPJusticeMthiyane pic.twitter.com/8SaPV6AmfK
— RSAJudiciary (@OCJ_RSA) February 3, 2021
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala described Judge Mthiyane’s death as a huge blow not only to his family, but also the legal fraternity and people of South Africa.
Zikalala has told people attending the funeral service that Mthiyane’s assistance to represent African National Congress (ANC) leaders during the apartheid regime will never be forgotten.
Zikalala says his immense contribution in strengthening the judiciary will also never be forgotten:
-Report by Fanele Mhlongo and Vusi Makhosini
