For the past four years, with the world looking on, he’s grilled politicians and others about their role in state capture. He’s stared down people who had angry outbursts and displayed immense calm when things threatened to get out of hand.
When we meet the acting chief justice at his Durban home on an overcast and humid Thursday afternoon, he’s relaxed and far from the fierce legal expert South Africans saw on screens day in and day out.
Gone are the suits and ties we got to know him in – he’s dressed casually in navy trousers and a navy kaftan-style top with tribal embroidery.
The judge is warm and welcoming, easy to laugh with and quite down-toearth.
His home at the end of a quiet street is very much like the man – no fuss or frills. The garden is lush and there’s a small pool but there are no ostentatious displays of wealth nor the sky-high fences that so often tell you someone of importance lives here.
In the lounge, we sink into cream leather couches. Next to a tranquil painting above the fireplace is a framed image of Nelson Mandela in his Robben Island prison cell, and a Christmas tree with all the trimmings is still set up in one corner.
But taking down the tree was the last thing on his mind: the judge has been consumed with filing the first part of the Zondo report on State Capture by the start of the year.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 20 January 2022-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 20 January 2022-Ausgabe von YOU South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
PUSHED TO THE LIMIT
The unusual relationship between an heiress and her husband has taken a sinister twist
HOW TO MAKE A SUPERBABY
Noor Siddiqui says her company can test embryos for hundreds of conditions from diabetes to Alzheimer's. Critics call it social engineering but she insists she's just giving prospective parents the means to avoid a lot of future heartache
THE GROWN-UP BRAIN
If you think your brain deteriorates as you age, think again!
THE eyes HAVE IT
They're the windows to our soul - and the first place to show the stresses of everyday life. Juliette Winter reveals expert tips to de-puff, brighten and smooth this delicate area
WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER
It hasn't been an easy road but now this bodybuilding couple are making waves in the industry
I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER!
Annetjie's about to get effective treatment for the skin condition that has blighted her life and she's looking forward to hitting the shops and facing the world
'SHE NO THREAT TO ANYONE'
When SA boxer Chris van Heerden's Russian girlfriend went to visit her parents she was thrown in jail and accused of treasonnow he's in a fight to free her
SUNK IN 16 MINUTES!
A sun-drenched holiday turned into a living nightmare for those aboard this luxury vessel
READY TO SMILE AGAIN
A groundbreaking surgical procedure will restore this Limpopo teen's badly damaged jaw and teeth
HARRY AT A CROSSROADS
As the prince turns 40, royal experts paint a picture of a troubled soul- isolated, homesick and struggling to find a purpose in life