Justice minister Ronald Lamola appoints 29 magistrates across the country

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola has appointed 29 regional magistrates across the country.

The appointments that will be effective from September 1, come after Lamola consulted with the Magistrates Commission.

“A fully transformed judiciary is a constitutional imperative. The appointments will further enhance diversity in our courts in terms of both race and gender, with 58% of the appointments being women (17 women and 12 men) and 75% African. Of the 29 appointments, 22 are African, two are coloured, one Indian and four white,” the department said.

The appointments are for the following courts:

• Gauteng (Soweto);
• North West (Brits, Tlhabane, Moretele, Bloemhof, Taung, Rustenburg, Kimberley);
• Limpopo (Thohoyandou);
• Mpumalanga (Mhala, eMkhondo);
• Western Cape (Worcester, Oudtshoorn),
• Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth x 4, Mdantsane, Mthatha, Bloemfontein);
• Free State (Heilbron, Kroonstad) and;
• KwaZulu-Natal (Durban x 2, Verulam, Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Umzimkulu, Vryheid).

“The appointments are an important step in capacitating our judicial officers and our courts so as to enable them to deliver justice to all.

“Our magistrate's courts are where most people encounter the justice system for the first time, and thus for many the magistrate's courts embody the justice system. If the magistrate's courts work well, it builds trust and confidence in the justice system,” Lamola said.

He said the appointments would increase capacity and help to optimise service delivery at courts.