Cagney Musi | |
---|---|
Judge President of the Free State High Court | |
Assumed office 1 December 2018 | |
Appointed by | Cyril Ramaphosa |
Deputy | Martha Mbhele |
Preceded by | Mahube Molemela |
Deputy Judge President of the Free State High Court | |
In office January 2017 –30 November 2018 | |
Appointed by | Jacob Zuma |
President | Mahube Molemela |
Succeeded by | Martha Mbhele |
Judge of the High Court | |
Assumed office 1 June 2005 | |
Appointed by | Thabo Mbeki |
Division | Free State Division |
Personal details | |
Born | Cagney John Musi 17 November 1962 Springs,Transvaal South Africa |
Alma mater | University of the Western Cape University of Cape Town |
Cagney John Musi (born 17 November 1962) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Judge President of the Free State High Court. He was appointed to the court as a puisne judge in June 2005 and was elevated to the judge presidency in December 2018 after two years' service as Deputy Judge President. Before joining the bench,he was a public prosecutor from 1986 to 1992 and a magistrate from 1992 to 2004.
Musi was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court in 2016,and he was president of the African chapter of the International Association of Judges between 2010 and 2018. He also served a term as chairperson of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers between 2014 and 2019.
Musi was born on 17 November 1962 in Springs in the former Transvaal Province. [1] He was classified as Coloured under apartheid, [2] and he attended the University of the Western Cape,where he completed a Dipl-Juris in 1985,a BA in law in 1988,an LLB in 1991,and an Hons in public administration in 1993. [1] Later,in 1995,he completed an LLM at the University of Cape Town. [1]
From 1986 to 1992,while studying at the University of the Western Cape,Musi worked as a public prosecutor. [1] Thereafter,from 1992 to 2004,he was a magistrate;he was a district magistrate,presiding in criminal,family and civil matters,until 1997,when he was promoted to regional magistrate. During that period,in 2001,he was admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa. [1] He was also active in the Magistrates' Association of South Africa and in the Judicial Officers' Association of South Africa;he served as the national president of the latter group between 2002 and 2004. [1]
In 2004,Musi left the magistracy to enter a training programme for aspirant judges. Thereafter he served three terms as an acting judge in the Northern Cape Division of the High Court,based in Kimberley,before he was appointed permanently as a judge in 2005. [1] [3]
On 31 May 2005,President Thabo Mbeki announced that Musi would join the High Court permanently as a judge of the Free State Division. [4] He took office on 1 June 2005. [2] Among other matters,Musi presided in the Brendin Horner murder trial,which received extensive public attention as a so-called farm murder. [5]
Musi was an acting judge in the Labour Court in 2008 and 2009 and an acting judge in the Labour Appeal Court in 2013. [1] In that capacity,in the Labour Court in 2008,he ruled against Sibongile Manana,Mpumalanga's provincial health minister,in an unfair dismissal case;Malcolm Naude had been fired from his position at a Nelspruit hospital for prescribing antiretrovirals to rape victims at a time when doing so was against provincial health policy. [6] [7]
In April 2014,Musi was among six candidates whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted and interviewed for possible permanent appointment to the Labour Appeal Court. [8] He was recommended for appointment,and,the following month,President Jacob Zuma confirmed his appointment to a ten-year term,with effect from 1 June 2014. [9]
In October 2016,the Judicial Service Commission recommended Musi for appointment as Deputy Judge President of the Free State Division. [2] Judge Khalipi Moloi had also been shortlisted for the position, [10] but he had dropped out of the contest,leaving Musi as the only candidate. [11] He took office as Deputy Judge President in January 2017. [1]
At that time,Musi had already served as acting Judge President for brief periods in 2015 and 2016,and in subsequent years,he filled the role on several occasions,filling in for Judge President Mahube Molemela between January and September 2017 and then,after Molemela was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal,between June and November 2018. [1] During the latter period,in August 2018,Musi was the sole candidate whom the Judicial Service Commission shortlisted for possible appointment to succeed Molemela permanently. [12]
He was viewed as "an apparent shoo-in" given that he had been given the "unofficial 'stamp of approval'" by,and even "groomed" for succession by,Molemela. [2] His interview,held in October 2018,proceeded smoothly,and the Judicial Service Commission recommended him for the appointment. [2] He took office as Judge President on 1 December 2018. [1]
In addition to his service in the Labour Court,Musi has been seconded as an acting judge to several other courts. Between 2010 and 2012,he was an acting judge on several occasions in the Lesotho High Court and Lesotho Labour Appeal Court,and on one occasion in the Lesotho Commercial Court. [13] In the Lesotho High Court,he presided in the liquidation of companies belonging to Simon Thebe-ea-Khale;six Lesotho judges had recused themselves due to conflicts of interest arising from Thebe-ea-Khale's alleged pyramid scheme. [13] In South Africa,he acted in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between August and December 2016,appointed by President Zuma to fill in for retired justice Johann van der Westhuizen. [14] After that,he served twice as an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal,first between December 2021 and May 2022 and then between October and November 2023. [1]
In October 2014,President Zuma appointed Musi to succeed Willie Seriti as chairperson of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. [15] He served a full five-year term in that office. [1]
Musi was also a member of the three-member judicial conduct tribunal appointed by the Judicial Service Commission to investigate allegations of misconduct by John Hlophe,the Western Cape Judge President. However,shortly before the tribunal was scheduled to begin,Hlophe asked Musi to recuse himself from the hearing,on the basis that he had made "disparaging remarks" about Hlophe while talking to other judges at a social gathering in 2017. [16] According to Musi,Hlophe made the same request for recusal by telephone,as well as in writing. [17] When the tribunal met on 2 July 2018,Musi recused himself from further proceedings. [17] [18]
Musi is an active member in the International Association of Judges;from 2010 to 2018,he served as president of its Africa region and a vice-president of the global organisation. [1] He has been a member of the advisory board of the Free State Centre for Human Rights since October 2018. [1]
The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa,and is the apex court in the South African judicial system,with general jurisdiction.
Mandlakayise John Hlophe is a South African jurist and politician,currently serving as the Deputy President of uMkhonto weSizwe and the Leader of the Opposition of South Africa. He was the Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa from May 2000 until March 2024,when he was impeached. He was the first South African judge to be impeached under the post-apartheid Constitution.
Baaitse Elizabeth "Bess" Nkabinde-Mmono is a South African retired judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from January 2006 to December 2017. During that time,she was acting Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa from 23 May 2016 to 7 June 2017. She joined the bench in November 1999 as a judge of the Bophuthatswana Provincial Division.
Christopher Nyaole Jafta is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from October 2009 to October 2021. Formerly an academic and practising advocate in the Transkei,he joined the bench in November 1999 as a judge of the Transkei Division. Thereafter he served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from November 2004 to October 2009.
Sisi Virginia Khampepe is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between October 2009 and October 2021. Formerly a prominent labour lawyer,she joined the bench in December 2000 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. She was also a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya is the Chief Justice of South Africa. She was formerly the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2017 to 2022 before she was elevated to the position of Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa in September 2022. She joined the bench in May 2000 as a judge of the Transkei Division of the High Court of South Africa and was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2006.
Patricia Lynette Goliath is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She has been the acting Judge President of the Western Cape Division since December 2022,when John Hlophe was suspended and then impeached.
Xola Mlungisi Petse is a retired South African judge who was the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal between 2019 and 2024. A former attorney,he joined the Supreme Court as a puisne judge in June 2012. Before that,he was a judge of the Eastern Cape High Court from July 2005 to May 2012.
Owen Lloyd Rogers is a South African judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Before his appointment to that court in August 2022,he served in the Western Cape Division of the High Court for nine years,having joined the bench in February 2013. Formerly an advocate and senior counsel at the Cape Bar,he was also a judge of the Competition Appeal Court between 2016 and 2022.
Nambitha Dambuza is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. A former attorney,she sat in the Eastern Cape High Court from 2005 until her appointment to the Supreme Court in June 2015.
Mahube Betty Molemela is a South African judge who has been the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal since 1 June 2023. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court in June 2018,she was the first woman Judge President of the Free State High Court from 2015 to 2018. A former attorney,she was appointed to the bench in the Free State in July 2008.
Baratang Constance Mocumie is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Before joining the Supreme Court,she was a judge of the Free State High Court from March 2008 until June 2016. She is also a judge in the Military Court of Appeal and the primary South African liaison judge to the Hague Conference on Private International Law,and she was the president of the South African chapter of the International Association of Women Judges between 2010 and 2014. She began her legal career as a prosecutor and magistrate in the North West and Gauteng provinces.
Dumisani Hamilton Zondi is a South African judge who is the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was appointed as the chairperson of the Electoral Court in December 2022. Before his elevation to the Supreme Court in June 2014,he served in the Western Cape High Court between 2007 and 2014,as well as in the Competition Appeal Court between 2011 and 2014. He entered legal practice as an attorney in 1986.
Tati Moffat Makgoka is a South African judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Formerly an attorney in Pretoria,he served in the Gauteng High Court from August 2009 until June 2018,when he was elevated to the Supreme Court of Appeal. He was an acting judge in the Constitutional Court in 2023.
Gayaat Salie-Hlophe,formerly known as Gayaat Salie-Samuels,is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. She was appointed to the Western Cape Division in January 2015 after nearly 17 years as a practising attorney in Cape Town. She was an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2022.
Bantubonke Regent Tokota is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the Eastern Cape Division in October 2017 after 20 years as a practising advocate in Pretoria. He was Senior Counsel from 2006 onwards and also served on the Marikana Commission of Inquiry between 2012 and 2014.
Legoabe Willie Seriti is a South African retired judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal between 2010 and 2019. Before his elevation to that court,he was a judge of the Gauteng High Court from 2003 to 2010. He is best known for his role in the Seriti Commission of Inquiry into the Arms Deal,which he chaired between 2011 and 2015. He was formerly an attorney in his hometown of Pretoria.
Mandela Makaula is a South African judge who is currently serving in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa. He joined the bench in 2010 after two decades in practice as an attorney and magistrate in the Eastern Cape. He was an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2022.
Nobulawo Martha Mbhele is a South African judge who is currently serving as Deputy Judge President of the Free State High Court. She was appointed to the court as a puisne judge in January 2016 and was elevated to the deputy judge presidency in July 2021. Before she joined the bench,she was an attorney in the Free State,both in private practice and for a decade at Legal Aid South Africa.
Lazarus Pule Tlaletsi is a South African judge who is currently serving as Judge President of the Northern Cape High Court since September 2017. He was formerly the Deputy Judge President of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court from 2013 to 2017. He joined the bench in November 2004 as a puisne judge of the Northern Cape High Court. Before that,he was a practising attorney in the North West Province.