Xola Mlungisi Petse was born on 10 July 1954 and is a retired South African judge who was the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal between 2019 and 2024.
14 Facts About Xola Petse
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Xola Petse resigned in 1975 in order to study law at the University of Fort Hare, where he completed a BProc in 1978.
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Between 1982 and 2005, Xola Petse practised as an attorney in the Eastern Cape.
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Xola Petse was one of the few admitted notaries in the Transkei and often represented anti-apartheid activists.
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On 10 July 2005, Xola Petse was appointed as a judge of the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa, based at Mthatha.
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Xola Petse spent close to seven years in that court.
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Xola Petse was viewed as one of the frontrunners, but his interview with the Judicial Service Commission was rigorous and included a prolonged debate with commissioner Fatima Chohan about the separation of powers.
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In 2018, Xola Petse was an acting justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, and he wrote several judgements for the court.
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On 2 February 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that Xola Petse was his sole nominee to fill the vacant position of Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
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In February 2021, Xola Petse chaired the Judicial Service Commission's interview process in the search for a new Chief Justice; he was one of the few senior judges who was not in the running for the position.
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President Ramaphosa nominated Mahube Molemela instead, and Xola Petse was criticised for questioning Molemela's interpersonal skills during her confirmation hearing in April 2023.
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Xola Petse stayed on as her deputy when she took office as Supreme Court President in June 2023, though he retired upon his seventieth birthday in July 2024.
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Xola Petse is married to Sbongile Sybil Petse and has three children.
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Xola Petse was formerly the chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Mbhashe in the Eastern Cape.