Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga lauded as he retires from the bench

JOHANNESBURG - Members of the legal fraternity have sung in unison on retiring Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga’s memorable judgments and his standard of humanity.

The Constitutional Court held a special ceremony for the acting deputy chief justice on Thursday after spending 12 years at the apex court and a total of 17 years on the bench.

Ahead of Madlanga is the judicial commission of inquiry into KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations.

During Thursday’s sitting, speaking on behalf of the Pan African Bar Association (PABASA), Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane said Madlanga should be celebrated for his humility.

"In this court, in you, in others, we've found people with our common epistemic backgrounds who could see when we were upset, who could sympathise with us and we were not invisible to them. You loved the poor, wept for them because poverty is not the absence of resources and money, it's the absence of dignity, being invisible to those who dominate the discourse."

At the same time, NPA head Shamiela Batohi said that Madlanga had brought more to the apex court than just intellectual distinction.

"Through his conduct, Justice Madlanga demonstrated that one can be brilliant without arrogance, principled without rigidity and powerful without being overbearing and domineering. He has reminded us all that the rule of law is not an abstraction, it is a living commitment to fairness, to accountability and  to justice for all."