Mandisa Maya. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Alon Skuy)
Supreme court of appeal president Mandisa Maya, one of the four candidates for chief justice, on Wednesday said if need be special courts should be set up to deal with prosecutions flowing from the Zondo report on state capture.
“I don’t think even with the best intention, and with the best work output, the present courts can cope,” Maya said during her interview with the Judicial Service Commission for the post.
“I am speculating, one does not really know how many cases will arise, but if things should come to a point that the existing courts are not coping, then money, broke country or no broke country … something has to be done to establish [a forum] that can deal with those cases because it is important to act on the report.”
Maya was responding to Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach, who asked: “We now have the second Zondo report and again there are many prosecutions recommended and it does not only depend on the police to prosecute, they need courts to do it in. How do you see the courts dealing with this deluge of cases coming their way?”
Maya stressed that the performance of some divisions could be improved and said in general a case could be made that the judiciary should “get our act together”.
“I believe in working what you have, and our situation right now is not a particularly good one financially,” she said.
Firm leadership counted for a lot, she said. Ultimately, the chief justice had a responsibility to ensure performance standards were met and that problems, such as those reported at the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court, be resolved.
But even this might not be enough, she conceded.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema repeated the question, with more political spin.
He wanted Maya to confirm whether, if appointed, she would be amenable to establishing courts designed to fast-track corruption cases, in a manner similar to how cases were prioritised in 2010 when South Africa hosted the Fifa World Cup tournament, “so that “people begin to see we are serious in dealing with corruption and finalising corruption cases”.
Malema added that currently corruption cases were used “by those in power to settle scores”.
“So they just pretend to take people to court and they leave them there hanging for so many years with a dark cloud so that these people are not a threat to their office occupation,” he continued, noting that Maya was not obliged to respond to this comment.
Maya said it was a good idea but again pointed to financial constraints, and again looked to Justice MInister Ronald Lamola.
“I think every right thinking South African would agree that that is a fine idea, but I don’t know if we will be able to create such courts within the resources we have now. Courts are currently struggling with their workload. We are short-staffed, we all know what is going on.
“I guess it would depend on whether the minister, if the idea was posed to him, he would not come back with the usual answer that treasury has no money. The country was not broke in 2010, so ….”
Lamola said the suggestion was premature and the focus should first be on the investigation process and the National Prosecuting Authority, with a view to preventing the to and fros that currently meant there might still be no formal indictment at an accused’s sixth appearance.
“Shouldn’t that be the kind of thing we are looking into so that we are able to have matters investigated quickly, being prosecuted quickly, and if for example with the special commercial crimes court it is then overwhelmed, there is a basis to say we create a special roll or we create a special court, as per the suggestion of commissioner Malema.
“But if we do it now, there is no case that a special corruption court can do.”
Maya replied: “You are making sense, minister. I don’t see a contradiction between what he proposes and what you are saying. You are just beefing up the process from inception, from investigation, but his idea remains that specialist courts would be needed for a few reasons, a few good reasons.
“They should be combined and with that composite mechanism, I’m sure we would make great inroads into the cancer that has brought our country to its knees.”
Maya called for the collapsing of the supreme court of appeal into the constitutional court to streamline the functioning of the judiciary, arguing that one advantage would be saving time and money by avoiding the current situation where an appeal that was always going to be fought to the highest court, first went to Bloemfontein.
She also proposed merging the superior courts and the magistrates’ courts. “The lower ranks of the judiciary are neglected and if we keep them close to us then we have a chance to share some of our experience and skill with them.”
Much of Maya’s interview focused on the fact that she was the first female candidate for chief justice, and her eyes moistened when commissioner Sylvia Lucas said South African women were proud of her.
Lucas then awkwardly resorted to stereotype in trying to comfort her, saying: “It’s fine, we are emotional beings as women.”
In response to a question from Inkatha Freedom Party MP Narend Singh, Maya said she was bitterly disappointed when President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed two male candidates to the constitutional court, though both justices Jody Kollapen and Rammaka Mathopo were worthy of the post. “I think I speak for a whole lot of South Africans, especially women.”
She felt similarly disappointed, she said in reply to a question from advocate Dali Mpofu, in 2012 when then president Jacob Zuma appointed Justice Raymond Zondo to the constitutional court when he and she had been the only candidates.
Maya summed up her thoughts at the time as being: “Here we go again, that is the lot of women not being taken seriously again.
“Many people, those who were here, were satisfied that I was a worthy candidate … I think it was an opportune moment to appoint a woman but it was not done.”
Mpofu replied: “Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself.”
But Lamola asked her whether, as the appointing authority, the president did not have the authority in terms of section 174 (2) of the Constitution to consider a range of factors.
“But we still have our hopes and our aspirations and we get disappointed if we don’t get our way, as humans.”
Maya concluded her interview by thanking all the women who “moved heaven and Earth” to see her nominated, saying she believed that just making the shortlist of four candidates was already an achievement.
The other candidates are Zondo, constitutional court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, who will be interviewed on Thursday.