South Africa has a new Chief Justice: an introduction to Raymond Zondo

SOUTH African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced the appointment of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the next chief justice of the country’s Constitutional Court.

Zondo is best known for his role as the head of the judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of rampant corruption, fraud and state capture during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure (May 2009-February 2018. Zuma grudgingly established the commission in January 2018).

The commmission’s work will go down in the annals of history as having defined Zondo’s tenacity as a fearless judicial leader. Presiding over the politically charged inquiry saw him lock horns with the former president, who bizarrely questioned his suitability to lead the commission – after he had elected him to the position.

The commission tested Zondo’s mettle. It sat over more than 400 days of hearings, featuring more than 300 witnesses. According to the commission, about 1,438 people and entities were implicated by evidence before the commission.