In the Eastern Cape village of Xugxwala near Mthatha, where judge Mandisa Maya was raised, her surname is synonymous with successful and highly educated individuals.
Sam Gqubule, a grey-bearded farmer who is one of the elders in the village, said the Mayas were descendants of a missionary who brought the gospel to the village and built a church and school decades ago.
Since then, the Mayas have always had an effect on their community.
In February, the Sunday Times visited Xugxwala just after Maya’s appearance before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) panel tasked with recommending a successor for outgoing chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
Her aunts, uncles, cousins, representatives from the local school, the local pastor and his wife all gathered at the family homestead to share memories of the woman who grew up among them.
Here she is not called by her title or by her surname, she is simply Mandisa or Mandi, the local girl.
The JSC recommended Maya for the chief justice post, but President Cyril Ramaphosa decided to appoint judge Raymond Zondo instead. He later named Maya as his preferred candidate for deputy chief justice, and on Monday the JSC endorsed her appointment.
Her supporters in Xugxwala had no doubt that she will make her mark.
“A disciplined, strict and orderly village girl, who is selfless; a humble, devout member of the church, always giving and helpful to the St Saviour's Church, the local school and community members,” is how Maya was described by one villager who knows her well.
Her cousin, Solomon Maya, took us through Mandisa’s life journey, from how she was born in her mother’s homestead of Tsomo but “had her umbilical cord planted in Xugxwala with her people”.
In the middle of Xugxwala, a stone’s throw from the Maya homestead, is a dilapidated one-room building with no roof, a rusty old door and crumbling walls bearing faint patches of dirty pink paint.
This is what remains of the Xugxwala primary where both Mandisa and Solomon started school.
“This room was our classroom when Mandisa and I were in standard 2 [grade 4] in 1972,” said Solomon. “It was the missionary school established by our great-great-grandfather.”
Mandisa moved the next year to attend schools outside the village, because of her father’s work commitments. He was a radio personality and her mother a teacher.
The classroom that Mandisa sat in four decades ago is the only part of the original building that remains. A new school has been built a few metres away.
Solomon fondly recalled the teacher who used to stand at the front of the classroom, Tutu Madyibi, who left teaching to study law and was an early inspiration for his cousin.
“Ms Madyibi was older than most when she entered the law,” said Solomon. “When she died in 2021, she was an attorney with her own practice.”
In 1978, Mandisa was enrolled at St John's College, a prestigious Anglican school in Mthatha, where she completed matric in 1980.
“What others describe as coming in from the cold, I see as bringing fresh perspectives and a wealth of experience from my time in the High Court, my long years at the SCA and the almost seven years in the institution’s leadership, which has accorded me access to the other rungs of the judiciary and given me a holistic view of the entire institution and its challenges.”
In the same way that she made history in 2017 when she became the first woman to hold the position of president of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), she was also part of a group of history-makers at St John's: one of the first group of girls to be admitted to a traditionally boys-only school.
At St John's, she and Solomon were reunited. Principal Zolisa Magaqa noted that other prominent South Africans who attended the school included businesswoman Gloria Serobe, the late auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, Microsoft SA MD Mteto Nyati, musician-turned-politician Ringo Madlingozi and architect Luyanda Mpahlwa.
“There are many high-profile people who come from here — scientists, medical doctors, lawyers and judges,” said Magaqa.
While showing us about the school, Solomon smiled nostalgically at the tennis court where he became an ace player. Mandisa excelled at softball and karate, but her sporting ambitions were never pursued to the full because “she was dedicated to her books”, said Solomon.
The Maya cousins went on to enrol as students of the University of the Transkei (Unitra).
“Mandisa and her friend, Nomhle Ncitane, were what we might call zombies for books, and it paid off,” Solomon said. “They lived in the library, while I loved having a good time.”
Solomon became a teacher and later a school principal until his retirement.
Mandisa went on from Unitra to study law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and later attended Duke University in the US where she obtained her master's in law.
On her return to SA, she rose through the judicial ranks, starting off as an attorney’s clerk before becoming a court interpreter and then a prosecutor. She became a law adviser before obtaining her pupillage to become an advocate.
In Xugxwala, villagers said success had not changed Mandisa. “She played a crucial role in the expansion of the church and she gives generously,” said a leader of the St Saviour's Church.
“One thing about her is that she always holds people accountable,” said Ma Mirriam Malephale. According to her, whenever Mandisa contributed to a cause, she followed up to ensure the mission was accomplished.
Her dedication to discipline and order was evident when I first interviewed her in 2017, after her appointment to the SCA. Her office in Bloemfontein was pristine. She made sure the weights in the model of justice’s scales were perfectly aligned when we photographed her. She might be reserved and softly spoken in her demeanour, but it is obvious to anyone who enters her company that she commands immense respect.
Solomon said that as the eldest daughter in a traditional Xhosa household, Mandisa was not expected to marry. The custom was that she would remain at home and take care of the household.
“Mandisa’s father was not keen for her to marry, but in our culture, it is also known that a woman’s journey leads to marriage, and she married,” Solomon said.
“We understood that this was a blessing. She married a gentleman, Dabulamanzi Mlokoti from Benoni, who was originally from Tsomo in the Transkei. He had an interest in farming. Since our families were close in proximity, they chose to settle and build here in this village, knowing that even in their absence there would be someone to take care of their livestock and property. They built their family home right here.”
Maya and Mlokoti have three children, two of whom have followed in their mother’s footsteps and pursued careers in law.
The Maya-Mlokoti homestead is a large grey house with a neatly manicured garden. In the front yard, is the sandy pit where Maya liked to cook in three-legged pots.
“Mandi has chickens, goats, sheep and pigs and also farms vegetables,” said Solomon. He walked us about to the back stoep where visitors were hosted and said proudly: “Even justice Raymond Zondo has come here to visit Mandisa.”
Church leader Michael Malephale said Maya’s village ways were still within her.
“When she’s here, you’d be shocked to see her down on her knees outside her house, blowing and fanning a fire.”
Solomon added: “She has a gas stove in her house but when she is here, she prefers to cook for her family on a three-legged pot on the fire outside. She will wear the simplest clothing: you wouldn’t even recognise her if you met her in her overalls, being followed by her dogs as she heads to the vegetable patches.”
Maya’s aunt, also called Mandisa and of a similar age, recalled how the two of them had big dreams growing up.
“We had a beautiful upbringing, Mandi and I. We would be sent on errands together, especially by her mother, but we grew up under strict hands. We always had to play in sight of the adults and never had any friends. We used to go through magazines and books and pick out houses and all the other things we wanted. I would say that I wanted to be a teacher so that I could smack naughty children, because I was also smacked at school. She dreamt of being a doctor or nurse.”
In our 2017 interview, Maya said she had abandoned her plan of pursuing medicine when she realised she had an aversion to blood. Because of her inquisitive nature, her father encouraged her to pursue law instead.
Xugxwala villagers hope that Maya’s success will have a ripple effect on their community.
“Imagine what motivation she will be — a girl who came from these rural areas, a poverty-stricken community, but she managed all those obstacles,” said Mzwandile Phatiswa, principal of the new Xugxwala primary school. “This will put this school on the map and also serve as a motivation to learners to pursue careers such as law.”
If donations are offered, Phatiswa hopes that one of the first things to be eradicated are pit latrines.
“In the same way as we saw development happen in places such as Qunu, where [Nelson] Mandela is from, we are hopeful that Maya’s success will bring change for us too,” he said.
On the day her appointment as deputy chief justice is formalised, Maya's extended family, including every villager who knows her name, are looking forward to hosting a huge celebration in her honour.
“I’m not here simply because I am a woman. I’m a judge, and a worthy judge I think – I have proven myself over 22 years. It’s very important that I am a woman but I am not good because I am a woman. I am just a good woman judge.”
WHY MAYA MATTERS
SA legal monitoring site Judges Matter had this to say about the qualities Mandisa Maya will bring to the role:
“The Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) role role is first and foremost a leadership position which requires an exceptional jurist to fill it. The incumbent must be an outstanding judge with the intellectual clout to consistently produce high quality judgments – what we call intellectual leadership.
Considering the demands of the role, the incumbent must also have a solid track record as a leader in the judiciary, who is able to manage complex systems and relationships and bring people along.
An independent mind and unimpeachable integrity are qualities that almost go without saying as they are indispensable to the role. It’s also important for the DCJ to have a clear vision for the judiciary, or at least commit to one set by the Chief Justice (CJ).
“Maya has a decent body of work as a judge, which speaks to the quality of intellectual leadership. She notes 200 judgments published in the official law reports, with at least two of them written in isiXhosa – a feat no other judge has so far achieved. One of those judgments, Afriforum v Chairperson: Unisa Council found that Unisa’s move to an English-only policy (to the exclusion of Afrikaans) violated the principle of legality and was constitutionally invalid. The other judgment, Mgijima v Premier: Eastern Cape, dealt with a traditional leadership dispute over the chieftancy of the Zulu Traditional Council in Sheshegu (Eastern Cape), and the premier’s decision to recognise one heir over the other. In both judgments, Maya deployed rigorous analysis of both the factual matrix and the complex legal principles, and in a language accessible to a wider audience. Her lone dissent in F v Minister of Safety and Security – a case dealing with a rape perpetrated by an off-duty police officer – was later upheld by the Constitutional Court and shows her independent-mindedness.
“During her Chief Justice interview in February Maya gave a compelling vision for where she intends taking the judiciary in the next few years. She spoke of the need to unite all judicial officers towards a common vision, the need to bring more women into the judiciary, and for the judiciary to be allocated more resources and for judges to set the priorities of how those resources are used. Chief Justice Zondo has spoken about his desire to strengthen the independence of the judiciary as an institution during his tenure.
"Both these visions are mutually reinforcing, and, if properly implemented, will stand the judiciary at a better footing. With less than 2 years left before Zondo retires, it makes sense for them work together to craft a common vision that Maya will probably be left implement fully." — Source: judgesmatter.co.za
BENCHMARKS
Once her position is officially ratified, Deputy Chief Justice will be the latest in this long list of what Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya has achieved by the age of 58 …
EDUCATION
Matric, St Johns College, Mthatha
B Proc (1986) University of Transkei
LLB (1988) University of Natal, Durban
LLM (1990) Duke University, NC, USA
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Attorney’s clerk; Dazana Mafungo Inc, Mthatha: 1987-1988
Court Interpreter and Prosecutor; Magistrates’ Court, Mthatha: 1988-1989
Legal Policy Counsel & Lobbyist; Women’s Legal Defense Fund, Washington DC
Assistant State Law Adviser; Mthatha: 1991-1993
Pupillage; Johannesburg Bar: 1993
Law Lecturer; University of Transkei: 1993-1995
Practising Advocate; Transkei Bar: 1994-1999
Acting Judge; Cape High Court & Mthatha High Court: 1999
Judge; Mthatha High Court: 2000
Acting Judge; Labour Court, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Bisho High Courts
Acting Judge; Supreme Court of Appeal: 2005
Judge of Appeal; Supreme Court of Appeal: 2006
Acting Judge; Constitutional Court, January to May 2011
Acting Judge; Supreme Court of Namibia: 2008; Appeal Court, Lesotho: 2015
Deputy President; Supreme Court of Appeal: 2015
Acting President; Supreme Court of Appeal: 2016 - 22 May 2017
President; Supreme Court of Appeal: June 2017
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Member of the Judicial Service Commission: 2017 –
Council Member: South African Judicial Education Institute: 2017 -
Founding Member (2002); Deputy President (2008 - 2010); President 2018 to date: South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges
Regional Director: West and Southern Africa; International Association of Women Judges: 2021
Member; Duke University [USA] Bolch Judicial Institute Leadership Council: 2020
Board Member; University of Free State Law Faculty: 2020
Advisory Board Member; Yearbook of South African Law: 2020
Advisory Board Member; South African Law Journal: 2019
Board Member; National Bar Examinations Board: 2016 –
Chairperson; South African Law Reform Commission: 2013 –
Member; Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Commissions: 2013 –
Patron; Lawyers Against Violence: 2013 –
Trustee; South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law: 2012
HONOURS AND AWARDS
Duke Law Alumni Association International Award: 2020
LLD (Honoris Causa) Nelson Mandela University 2018
LLD (Honoris Causa) Walter Sisulu University 2019
LLD (Honoris Causa) University of Fort Hare 2020
Editorial Advisory Board Member, South African Law Journal: 2020
South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges Recognition Award for contribution to gender transformation in the judiciary: 2010; 2016
Recipient of the South African Women Lawyers Association History & Icon Programme: 2012
Commonwealth Foundation Fellowship: 2002
Fulbright Scholarship: 1989-1990
Georgetown University Law & Gender Fellowship Program: 1990
— Source: supremecourtofappeal.org.za
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