Mandisa Maya is set to lead South Africa’s judiciary for the next 10 years, after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which oversees senior judicial appointments, determined on Tuesday to recommend her appointment as chief justice by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
As the first woman to hold such a position in the country’s history, it seems like a reward for a judge who stayed away from controversy.
However, the position itself is increasingly the focus of political contention, as is the entire legal system, part based on Roman-Dutch and part on English jurisprudence.
Since the multi-party negotiations of 1992/93, some radical elements have been criticising those political agreements, along with the resulting constitution, as effectively entrenching land theft and other colonial-era excesses, as well as the apartheid race-based system which shaped the modern urban landscapes of this still-divided country.
Read: Deep-rooted graft tops list for South Africa ‘failing state’
But these voices were drowned out by the vast majority’s acceptance of a new deal in what has been the ‘land of apartheid’, the biases embedded in an inherited legal system being left to post-apartheid administrations to sort out.
But for the likes of former president Jacob Zuma and his newly minted uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, only a complete rewrite of the entire structure of the law is sufficient.
Zuma himself is still facing 783 counts of fraud, corruption and money laundering charges arising from alleged kickbacks during a late 1990s arms deal.
But he is desperate to have both the ‘Eurocentric’ laws of South Africa changed, and the negotiated constitution thrown out just as much as he demands a reversion to something akin to slightly modernised traditional tribal law. Recently, the courts struck his name off the ballot over his past conduct including a jail term her served for contempt of Court.
Along with MK, Julius Malema and his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have blown hot and cold over South Africa’s legal structures.
Malema and a few of his close lieutenants have also come in for legal scrutiny over possible state capture-style graft, or other alleged improprieties.
At one point, the EFF, which is overtly Pan-Africanist, was arguing against its own policies when anti-immigrant sentiments were running high amid further bouts of violent xenophobia.
Read: Mandela vision of Black unity fades as SA shuts door to migrants
The Party argued that the bar for successful amnesty applications was too low, and too many people were being allowed into the country.
The EFF stand seems more closely related to direct effects of the law on the party leaders than any underlying ideological issues, though it maintains a strong line that should it gain power, it will wield existing and any new laws with vigour, believing in the centralisation of power in a Marxist-Leninist state system.
Both MK and the EFF also say they want all major industries nationalised.
Put together, these two political alignments could garner at least a quatre of the vote in the elections due on Wednesday next week, according to latest opinion polls.
That may not be a direct or immediate threat to South Africa’s current legal framework.
However, there is a growing populist sentiment that ‘old colonial laws and systems must go’, even though most of those supporting such calls have little idea of the implications.
Outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo was something of a ‘controversial’ choice, when appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April 2022, despite being ‘next in line’ as Deputy Chief Justice.
This was due to his four-year stint as chair of the commission of inquiry into state capture graft, ironically signed into law by then outgoing president Zuma as one of his last official acts before being forced to resign by his own ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in 2018.
That means that Justice Maya’s new heights bring her the task of managing the politics related to the calls for a change in legal framework, together with the potential legal drams that may ensue over which way to go about change.
Born in March 1964 in the then apartheid-era ‘black homeland’ of Transkei, now the Eastern Cape province, Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya was appointed Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa soon after missing out on the top slot in 2022 to Justice Zondo.
She has had a stellar career from humble beginnings and was formerly the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2017 to 2022.
Initially a prosecutor and state law adviser, she was admitted as an advocate in 1994.
Former president Thabo Mbeki appointed her to the Supreme Court of Appeal in June 2006. In the appellate court, she was elevated to the deputy presidency in September 2015 and the presidency in May 2017.
She was the first black woman to serve in the Supreme Court of Appeal, as well as the court’s first woman deputy president and first woman president.
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Air Tanzania Banned From EU Airspace Due to Safety Concerns
Several airports have since locked Air Tanzania, dealing a severe blow to the Tanzanian national carrier that must now work overtime to regain its certification or go the wet lease way
The European Commission has announced the inclusion of Air Tanzania on the EU Air Safety List, effectively banning the airline from operating in European airspace.
The decision, made public on December 16, 2024, is based on safety concerns identified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which also led to the denial of Air Tanzania’s application for a Third Country Operator (TCO) authorisation.
The Commission did not go into the specifics of the safety infringement but industry experts suggest it is possible that the airline could have flown its Airbus A220 well past its scheduled major checks, thus violating the airworthiness directives.
“The decision to include Air Tanzania in the EU Air Safety List underscores our unwavering commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards for passengers in Europe and worldwide,” said Apostolos Tzitzikostas, EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.
“We strongly urge Air Tanzania to take swift and decisive action to address these safety issues. I have offered the Commission’s assistance to the Tanzanian authorities in enhancing Air Tanzania’s safety performance and achieving full compliance with international aviation standards.”
Air Tanzania has a mixed fleet of modern aircraft types including Boeing 787s, 737 Max jets, and Airbus A220s.
It has been flying the B787 Dreamliner to European destinations like Frankfurt in Germany and Athens in Greece and was looking to add London to its growing list with the A220.
But the ban not only scuppers the London dream but also has seen immediate ripple effect, with several airports – including regional like Kigali and continental – locking out Air Tanzania.
Tanzania operates KLM alongside the national carrier.
The European Commission said Air Tanzania may be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased aircraft of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.
A wet lease is where an airline pays to use an aircraft with a crew, fuel, and insurance all provided by the leasing company at a fee.
Two more to the list
The EU Air Safety List, maintained to ensure passenger safety, is updated periodically based on recommendations from the EU Air Safety Committee.
The latest revision, which followed a meeting of aviation safety experts in Brussels from November 19 to 21, 2024, now includes 129 airlines.
Of these, 100 are certified in 15 states where aviation oversight is deemed insufficient, and 29 are individual airlines with significant safety deficiencies.
Alongside Air Tanzania, other banned carriers include Air Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe), Avior Airlines (Venezuela), and Iran Aseman Airlines (Iran).
Commenting on the broader implications of the list, Tzitzikostas stated, “Our priority remains the safety of every traveler who relies on air transport. We urge all affected airlines to take these bans seriously and work collaboratively with international bodies to resolve the identified issues.”
In a positive development, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been cleared to resume operations in the EU following a four-year suspension. The ban, which began in 2020, was lifted after substantial improvements in safety performance and oversight by PIA and the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA).
“Since the TCO Authorisation was suspended, PIA and PCAA have made remarkable progress in enhancing safety standards,” noted Tzitzikostas. “This demonstrates that safety issues can be resolved through determination and cooperation.”
Another Pakistani airline, Airblue Limited, has also received EASA’s TCO authorisation.
Decisions to include or exclude airlines from the EU Air Safety List are based on rigorous evaluations of international safety standards, particularly those established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
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The process involves thorough review and consultation among EU Member State aviation safety experts, with oversight from the European Commission and support from EASA.
“Where an airline currently on the list believes it complies with the required safety standards, it can request a reassessment,” explained Tzitzikostas. “Our goal is not to penalize but to ensure safety compliance globally.”
Airlines listed on the EU Air Safety List face significant challenges to their international operations, as the bans highlight shortcomings in safety oversight by their home regulatory authorities.
For Air Tanzania, this inclusion signals an urgent need for reform within Tanzania’s aviation sector to address these deficiencies and align with global standards.
The path forward will require immediate and sustained efforts to rectify safety concerns and regain access to one of the world’s most critical aviation markets.
Source: allafrica.com
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