PERSONALITY XXX PROFILE
Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo In conversation with Raymond Zondo, Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa and presiding judge for South Africa’s Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. “Without the kindness of strangers and the assistance of bursaries, I would never have gone past primary school.” – Judge Raymond Zondo during his interview for the position of Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo heading the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (also known as Zondo Commission) on 17 May 2019 which was streamed live on TV. Courtesy of eNCA (eNews Channel Africa), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
E
arly years
The third of nine children, Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi “Ray” Zondo was born in rural Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal on 4 May 1960. His family was not financially well off: his father worked as a labourer and his mother as a nurse’s aide before she turned to knitting jerseys for a living. But this didn’t stop the ambitious, resilient and proactive youngster from pursuing a legal career. With hard work, bursaries and the help of someone who believed in him, he not only matriculated from St Mary’s Seminary but went on to attend the Universities of Zululand and Natal, where he completed his LLB and B.Iuris and then his LLM (cum laude) in labour law, LLM with specialisation in commercial law and LLM in patent law through the University of South Africa (UNISA). He began serving his articles of
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clerkship under anti-apartheid activist Victoria Mxenge in her Durban-based law firm, but when she was murdered1 he moved to Mthembu and Partners and then Chennels Alberton Attorneys. Following his admission as an attorney in 1989, he became a partner in Durbanbased law firm Mathe and Zondo Incorporated. In 1991 and 1992 he served on two committees of the Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation, otherwise known as the Goldstone Commission. In 1994 Zondo was appointed to the Ministerial Task Team assigned to produce a draft Labour Relations Bill for post-apartheid South Africa. Two years later, he became the first chairperson of the Governing Body of the Commission for the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
SECURITY FOCUS AFRICA NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2020
He resigned from this position when he was appointed as acting judge and then permanent judge in the Labour Court in 1997. In 2000 he was elected Judge President of the Labaour Court, and then in 2011 Acting Judge of the Constitutional Court. He was permanently appointed in late 2012, serving on various ad hoc committees as well. On 1 June 2017 Raymond Zondo was appointed Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa.
Commission of Inquiry into State Capture Shortly after taking office in 2018, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the establishment of a commission of inquiry into allegations of state corruption, following which he appointed Zondo to the position
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