TableTalk
SA's first woman president of appeal court is not afraid to make her mark
Supreme Court of Appeal president Mandisa Maya made history when she became the first woman to lead the court in its 107 years of existence.
Her appointment signals that a lot has changed in Bloemfontein since the late Chief Justice Ismail Mohamed became the court's first black leader 20 years ago, despite resistance from the SCA's old-order jurists.
In many ways, the story of the SCA is one of continuity and change.
Its magnificent sandstone buildings, with their stinkwood and imbuia-panelled courtrooms and chambers, speak of the past. Meanwhile, the demographic mix of the SCA's judges reminds us that our judiciary has slowly been changing over the past 23 years. Six of the appeal court's judges are women, and the majority of the judges are black.
We catch up with Maya at her chambers even though the court is still in recess - its third term starts only next Tuesday.
She has temporarily left her rural Mthatha home and come to Bloemfontein to move house - to her official residence - before the 25-member court resumes its sessions...
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