Limpopo Division of the High Court of South Africa | |
---|---|
![]() | |
23°54′45″S29°27′14″E / 23.9124°S 29.4538°E | |
Location | Polokwane (main seat), Thohoyandou, Lephalale (local seats) |
Coordinates | 23°54′45″S29°27′14″E / 23.9124°S 29.4538°E |
Composition method | Presidential appointment on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission |
Authorized by | Chp. 8 of the Constitution; Superior Courts Act, 2013 |
Appeals to | Supreme Court of Appeal or Constitutional Court |
Judge President | |
Currently | George Phatudi |
Since | 1 December 2023 |
Deputy Judge President | |
Currently | Violet Semenya |
Since | 1 July 2021 |
The Limpopo Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the Limpopo province of South Africa. The main seat of the court in Polokwane opened on 25 January 2016. [1] The court also has local seats at Thohoyandou and Lephalale. Before the opening of the division, the Gauteng Division at Pretoria had jurisdiction over Limpopo and circuit courts sat at Polokwane.
Until 1994, the area that is now Limpopo was part of the Transvaal Province and was within the jurisdiction of the Transvaal Provincial Division (now the Gauteng Division). In July 1979 a High Court was established for the Venda bantustan. In September of the same year Venda became nominally independent from South Africa, and its court became the Supreme Court of Venda, although decisions of the court could still be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa. When Venda was reincorporated into South Africa in 1994 the court continued to exist, and when the current Constitution of South Africa came into force it became one of the High Courts. It was known as the Venda Division until 2009, when it received the name of "Limpopo High Court, Thohoyandou". In 2013, in the restructuring brought about by the Superior Courts Act, the court at Thohoyandou became a local seat of the Limpopo Division, with the main seat to be established at Polokwane. [2]
The Province of the Transvaal, commonly referred to as the Transvaal, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's geographical location to the north of the Vaal River. Its capital was Pretoria, which was also the country's executive capital.
Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is situated in Lebowakgomo.
Venda or Tswetla, officially the Republic of Venda, was a Bantustan in northern South Africa. It was fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while, to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the Limpopo province. Venda was founded by the South African government as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. The United Nations and international community refused to recognise Venda as an independent state.
The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction over a defined geographical area in which it is situated. The decisions of a division are binding on magistrates' courts within its area of jurisdiction. The High Court has jurisdiction over all matters, but it usually only hears civil matters involving more than 400,000 rand, and serious criminal cases. It also hears any appeals or reviews from magistrates' courts and other lower courts.
Thohoyandou is a town in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre of Vhembe District Municipality and Thulamela Local Municipality. It is also known for being the former capital of the bantustan of Venda.
Phalaphala FM is a South African radio station operating through SABC, South Africa's government owned national broadcaster. Phalaphala FM broadcasts in the Venda language and can be received mainly in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces. The station's Music format is Middle of the Road Format (MOR) with Mid Tempo Bit.
The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was the highest appellate court in the country.
The courts of South Africa are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in South Africa. They apply the law of South Africa and are established under the Constitution of South Africa or under Acts of the Parliament of South Africa.
The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The main seat of the division is at Makhanda, with subordinate local seats at Gqeberha, East London, Bhisho and Mthatha. As of November 2017 the Judge President of the division is Selby Mbenenge.
The North West Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law with general jurisdiction over the western part of North West province of South Africa. The division sits at Mahikeng.
Louis Trichardt, informally shortened to Louis Tri, is a town at the foot of Songozwi, in the Soutpansberg mountain range in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It is the centre of the Makhado Local Municipality, which comprises 16,000 km² with a total population of 270,000 (2001). Louis Trichardt is located in a fertile region where litchis, bananas, mangoes and nuts are produced. The N1 National Route runs through the town. Louis Trichardt is 437 kilometres from Johannesburg and one hour's drive from the Zimbabwean border at Beitbridge. Louis Trichardt was known for a time as Makhado, but it was changed back to Louis Trichardt. Vleifontein, Elim, Tshikota, Madombidzha, Makhado Park and Dzanani surround the town at all directions.
Dzanani is a town and also the name of a region in the former Venda, now part of Limpopo province in South Africa. Dzanani was named after MuDzanani, which is one of the main surnames in Venda; and also the then Paramount Chiefs of Songozwi. The language predominantly spoken is TshiVenda, which is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa.
The Bobirwa Subdistrict is a jurisdiction in Botswana. It is populated by the Babirwa (Ba-Birwa) people who came from Transvaal in present-day South Africa.
The Superior Courts Act, 2013 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that restructured the court system. It reorganised the various High Courts into a single High Court of South Africa, with a division situated in each province, including two new divisions to serve Limpopo and Mpumalanga. It rationalised and consolidated the laws governing the superior courts, and altered the administration and financial management of the courts. The act was signed into law on 12 August 2013, and came into force on 23 August. It is associated with the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Act of 2012, which makes corresponding necessary changes to the Constitution.
The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, while a local seat at Johannesburg has concurrent jurisdiction over the southern parts of Gauteng. Dunstan Mlambo has been the Judge President of the division since 1 November 2012.
Thabo Lucas Makunyane was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist. He was the first mayor of Limpopo's Polokwane Local Municipality from 2000 to 2010. He also served in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2000 and in the National Council of Provinces from 2012 to 2014.
Malesela Francis Legodi is a South African retired judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was the first Judge President of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court from August 2017 to August 2023. He joined the bench in October 2004 as a puisne judge of the Gauteng Division. Before that, he was a practising attorney in Mpumalanga.
Phineas Mathale Deon Mojapelo is a South African retired judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was the Deputy Judge President of the South Gauteng Division from January 2005 to June 2020, and he joined the bench in January 2003 as a puisne judge of the North Gauteng Division. He was also an acting judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa in 2017.
Ephraim Mampuru Makgoba is a South African retired judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was the inaugural Judge President of the Limpopo Division from 2015 to 2022, though he joined the bench in 2008 as a puisne judge of the Gauteng Division. Before he joined the bench, he was an attorney in Nelspruit and Polokwane.
Nare Frans Kgomo is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. He currently serves in the Limpopo Division of the High Court, but he joined the bench on 1 May 2008 as a judge of the Gauteng Division, following his shortlisting for that position in February 2008. Sitting in the Johannesburg High Court in 2010, Kgomo heard the Brett Kebble murder trial and dismissed the murder charges against Glenn Agliotti.