President Cyril Ramaphosa wishes to thank members of the public for responding to his invitation to participate in the process of nominating the next Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa. 

The process began on 16 September 2021 when President Cyril Ramaphosa called on South Africans to nominate suitably qualified candidates for this critical position as Head of the Judiciary of South Africa. This invitation was intended to promote transparency and enable public participation. 

The submission process closed at midnight on 01 October 2021. 

In response to the call for public participation, the public made 148 submissions which consisted of 25 names. Some of these individuals featured in more than one submission. Of the 25 names, only 8 nominations met the criteria as set out in the call by the President. 

The criteria referred to above, stipulated the following: 

A nomination letter, including the contact details of the nominator; 

The nominee’s acceptance of the nomination and their contact details; 

Letters of support for the nomination, including contact details of persons or  entities that support the nomination, including at least one letter of support from a  professional body of legal practitioners, non-governmental organisation working in  the field of human rights, or other legal field; and 

Any additional documentation that the person nominating the candidate for Chief Justice deems relevant. 

The Nominations Panel which is chaired by Judge Navanethem (Navi) Pillay assessed and scrutinised all submissions. 

The 8 names that qualified for nomination as set out in the criteria are, in alphabetical order: 

1. Judge President John Hlophe 
2. Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga 
3. Justice Mandisa Maya 
4. Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi 
5. Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane 
6. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo 
7. Adv. Alan Nelson, SC 
8. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo 

The biographies of the nominees are available on www.thepresidency.gov.za for inspection by the public. 

South Africans are now invited to submit in writing any objections they may have regarding the nominees to [email protected](link sends e-mail) and [email protected](link sends e-mail) by 17:00 on Friday, 15 October 2021. 

The panel will consider objections before submitting a shortlist of three to five names to the President. The Panel is required to report to the President by Friday, 29 October 2021 and its Terms of Reference are also available on the Presidency website. 

Issued by Tyrone Seale, Acting Spokesperson to the President, 4 October 2021