Holding The Gavel

His appointment as deputy chief justice was seen as nepotism, but Raymond Zondo tells us why he’s the right man for the job.

- Aphiwe Boyce

IT’S not a good thing to be aligned with the president in a political climate in which the country’s number one citizen is under fire for inappropriate relationships with monied families and is accused of creating a network of yes-men and women to help him line his pockets.

Any appointment or endorsement from President Jacob Zuma appears to be an indictment, especially when there’s widespread critique of the person chosen for the job.

The recent appointment of Raymond Zondo was no different – there was plenty of finger-pointing when Zuma chose him to fill the position of deputy chief justice when respected judge Dikgang Moseneke retired last year.

Zondo was handpicked despite the fact there were other Constitutional Court judges who had been serving longer than him, such as Justice Sisi Khampepe, critics pointed out.

The General Council of the Bar also had reservations about his lack of judgment in a high-profile case. And he was accused of running a chaotic, messy labour court in his tenure as judge president, with one case reportedly taking 10 years for a judgment to be delivered.

But the newly appointed deputy chief justice, just one month in office, isn’t deterred by the criticism. “I don’t think there’s a basis for that,” he tells us when we meet him in his new office in Constitution Hill in Braamfontein and ask him about claims he’s in the president’s pocket.

Yes, he has known Zuma since the days he practised as a lawyer in Durban, but there is no friendship there, he says.

As for the reports of judgment delays and inefficient administration while he was at the labour court? “Yes, there were some delays but some were not because of the court but because of inadequate resources.