MAHUBE Betty Molemela is the new President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
She is the second woman to head the appeal court, which she joined in 2018. The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) resolved to recommend her for the position on Monday, 17 April.
President Cyril Ramaphosa nominated her to fill the vacancy created when he named Justice Mandisa Maya as Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court in September last year.
During the interview, Molemela told the commissioners that her plan would be to implement strategic leadership at that court and promote trust among her colleagues, the entire workforce, and boost the morale of the staff of the SCA.
“I will encourage the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeal to also attend that workshop because judges too experience trauma grief and other challenges in their lives which may overwhelm them for a period of time and possibly have an adverse effect on the performance of their functions,” she said.
Molemela said she would consult with her colleagues for the purposes of introducing a fit-for-purpose wellness program for the court focusing on promoting the physical mental and emotional health and personal security of all colleagues.
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In terms of the Constitution, the President appoints the President of the SCA. However, he must first consult with the JSC.
Molemela said some of the challenges they have at the SCA are the shortage of researchers and a library that has not been updated for years.
“I don't want to compare the SCA to the Constitutional Court, but I do have to mention that just to highlight the seriousness of the problems at the Constitutional Court, each chamber is allocated two researchers. At the Supreme Court of Appeal, four judges are allocated one researcher which is grossly inadequate by any standards in the world,” she said.
On the perception that she leapfrogged senior judges, Molemela said this was not something unheard of in the judiciary.
“It has happened many times in the Constitutional Court and in the SCA itself and in the High Court. There have been many instances where the colleague appointed as the leader of the court was not necessarily the most senior member of that court,” she added.
