Acting judge’s third attempt to become Limpopo High Court judge sees JSC ask the same questions

Contesting for the third time to become a judge in the Limpopo High Court, advocate Lesibana Ledwaba did not have an easy interview before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Wednesday.

The high court has only one vacancy.

Ledwaba, who has four law degrees, was the first to take the hot seat and struggled to reassure commissioners as he was persistently asked the same questions.

Ledwaba has been acting as a judge in the Limpopo and Gauteng high courts since 2019. He has dealt with criminal and civil cases and had only one judgment overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal.

His interview started smoothly, but when commissioners asked about a complaint previously raised to the Legal Practice Council (LPC) about a billing grievance, the commissioners were not satisfied with his answers.

Ledwaba had provided the JSC with a certificate of good standing from the LPC, but the commissioners were not convinced the letter was enough to prove the complaint against him was settled.

He told the commission the complaint had been withdrawn and solved through mediation. 

“The complainant showed me a letter of withdrawal. I was satisfied the matter was settled,” he said.

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi asked him why he did not attach a document from the LPC to confirm the withdrawal of the complaint, a document different from the certificate of good standing.

“You were accused of duplicating invoices but the letter you submitted has nothing to do with that. There is no letter from the LPC saying the complaint was withdrawn,” Ngcukaitobi said.

Advocate Kameshni Pillay read the LPC letter, saying: “It certifies your name has not been removed from the roll, you have not been suspended and there are no proceedings pending to strike your name from the roll or suspend you.”

She said the LPC letter was not necessarily referring to the “ordinary” complaint raised against him but that he was clear of any serious complaints. 

Ledwaba said he understood the LPC letter to be referring to the complaint, adding: “It was the only complaint raised against me.”

The commissioners disagreed among themselves on whether the JSC should make candidates provide letters of good standing from bar societies, instead of only the LPC.

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