Mbuyiseli Russel Madlanga was born on 27 March 1962 and is a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, currently serving as Acting Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa following the elevation of Mandisa Maya to Chief Justice.
15 Facts About Mbuyiseli Madlanga
1.
2.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga joined the bench on 1 August 2013 on the appointment of President Jacob Zuma.
3.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga won a scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame and completed his LLM there in 1990.
4.
In 1991, amid the negotiations to end apartheid, Mbuyiseli Madlanga returned to South Africa and began practice as an advocate in Mthatha.
5.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga's admission to the Bar was moved by his close friend and mentor Tholie Madala; Sandile Ngcobo, with whom Madlanga would later work at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, was a colleague and friend of both.
6.
On 1 September 1996, Mbuyiseli Madlanga was appointed to the bench of the Transkei Division of the High Court.
7.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga authored S v Steyn, which declared unconstitutional provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 that removed an accused person's automatic right of appeal against a magistrate's court conviction.
8.
In 2001, Mbuyiseli Madlanga resigned from the bench, saying the salary was insufficient to support his family, and returned to private practice.
9.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga appeared for South Africa at the International Court of Justice in the case regarding the Israeli West Bank barrier.
10.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga served as evidence leader at the commission of inquiry into the fitness of Bheki Cele to hold office as national police commissioner, and at the Farlam Commission investigating the Marikana miners' strike.
11.
On 1 August 2013, Mbuyiseli Madlanga was appointed permanently to the Constitutional Court, replacing Zak Yacoob.
12.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga's appointment had been widely expected, especially after he impressed at his interview before the Judicial Service Commission, though some felt a woman ought to have been appointed.
13.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga admitted at the interview that this judgment was wrong.
14.
Mbuyiseli Madlanga was one of the authors of the majority judgment in the 2015 My Vote Counts v Speaker, which was widely condemned.
15.
On 4 October 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Mbuyiseli Madlanga was one of eight nominees under consideration to succeed Mogoeng Mogoeng as Chief Justice of South Africa.