The Honourable Bheki Maphalala | |
|---|---|
 Maphalala in 2018 | |
| Chief Justice of the Judiciary of Eswatini | |
| Assumed office 10 November 2015 | |
| Appointed by | King Mswati III |
| Preceded by | Michael Ramodibedi |
Bheki Maphalala is a Swazi jurist and lawyer who has been the Chief Justice of Eswatini since 2015,and a member of the Supreme Court since 2011. King Mswati III appointed Maphalala as chief justice after dismissing Michael Ramodibedi.
Maphalala graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a Bachelor of Laws in 1990. [1]
From 1992 to 2009,Maphalala worked as an attorney. In 2011,Maphalala was appointed to the Supreme Court. [1] He was the first member of the Swazi people to be appointed to the Supreme Court. [2] The International Commission of Jurists stated that his appointment to the Supreme Court was in violation of the constitution as Maphalala had only served on the High Court for two years rather than the minimum of five years. [3]
Maphalala ruled on 17 April 2013 that The Nation was guilty of "contempt by scandalizing the court" for two articles it published which criticised Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi in 2009 and 2010,and issued a fine of 300,000 Swazi lilangeni (around $20,000). [4]
Arrest warrants were prepared by Ramodibedi against Mbutfo Mamba,Mumcy Dlamini,and Maphalala in 2014,and all three were noted to have angered Ramodibedi. [5] King Mswati III dismissed Ramodibedi. Mswati appointed Maphalala,who was acting chief justice,to succeed Ramodibedi on 10 November 2015. As chief justice he also served as chair of the Judicial Service Commission. [2] As of 2025,Maphalala has an annual salary of over 1 million Swazi lilangeni. [6]
The Centre for Human Rights condemned Maphalala for disbarring Muzi Simelane in 2018,without a fair and public hearing. [7]