Mandisa Maya nominated first female president of SCA

President Jacob Zuma has nominated Madam Justice Mandisa Maya as the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, the Presidency announced on Monday.

This makes Maya the first female president of the second highest court in South Africa.

According to the Constitution, the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal is appointed by the President after consultation with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

President Zuma has informed the chairperson of the JSC, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, about his decision to nominate Justice Maya as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Justice Maya will fill the vacancy that occurred following the discharge from active service of Justice Lex Mpati.

“We wish Justice Maya all the best as the selection process unfolds,” said President Zuma.

Justice Maya, who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the post, was appointed as an acting judge of the High Court in 1999 and a full-time judge the following year.

She has acted as a judge at the Labour Court, an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal, and as an acting judge at the Constitutional Court and in 2006 she was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In 2015 she was appointed as the first female deputy president of the Supreme Court of Appeal.