4 February 2022 .
Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo told the Judicial Services Commission that he did not think he was entitled to the job of chief justice, just because he has been Deputy Chief Justice and Acting Chief Justice.
“I do not think I am better than the other candidates. I am here because the head of State considered that I should be … because it seems he would like to have a choice. And if I am appointed, I would not see myself as some super judge. I would see myself as a servant to the people of South Africa,” he said.
Justice Zondo, who chaired the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, was first appointed as a judge in 1997 in the Labour Court. He was appointed to the Constitutional Court in 2012 and became Deputy Judge President in 2017. He is 62 and, if Cyril Ramaphosa appoints him, he will only serve for two and a half years.
Among the issues he said he would tackle during his tenure would be to ensure the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) achieved complete independence.
He said former President Jacob Zuma should be applauded for enabling the setting up of the OCJ as a national department, but phases two and three, including the establishment of a “judicial council” had been stalled because the executive had failed to respond to a proposal for far more independence.