There can be few people with whom Jacob Zuma must be more bitterly disappointed than chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. Sure, Thuli Madonsela might come close, but she was far more of an unknown quantity than Mogoeng was when Zuma appointed him in September 2011. In 2011, Mogoeng was derided as exactly the sort of apparently compromised candidate a fatally compromised president would want. For example, Mogoeng had failed to recuse himself in a case in which his wife acted as a lawyer; he was relatively inexperienced (vastly so, compared to Dikgang Moseneke) and he had a record of awful decisions in rape cases, including cutting a sentence of a rapist he described as “tender”. But once in office, Mogoeng has been a revelation, an inspiration even — for all but Zuma. Last week, in delivering a judgment effectively telling speaker of parliament Baleka Mbete it was her constitutional duty to hold a secret ballot on the no-confidence vote against Zuma, Mogoeng seemed nothing less than the em...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.