Newly appointed Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo, says Supreme Court of Appeal President Mandisa Maya was one of the first people to congratulate him on his appointment – just as he had congratulated her after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) recommended her for the position.

"I was also, in my own mind, certain that whoever got appointed, I would give them full support," he told News24 on Friday morning.

"After Justice Maya was recommended by the JSC, I called her the next day to say congratulations on the JSC recommending you, and if you are appointed you must just know that I will give you full support. And she was very happy with that," he said, adding he believed that all the candidates for the Chief Justice position were aware that "we are here for the country, not ourselves. This is for the country and we must always remember that these positions are not there for us to be important. It is about service to the country. I think that everyone approached the interviews with that in mind," he said.

The JSC has been accused of acting unconstitutionally and attempting to force President Cyril Ramaphosa's hand when it put Maya forward as its preferred candidate for the Chief Justice position, despite the president having largely untrammelled discretion in selecting the judge who will lead the country's courts.

'An excellent judge'

Ramaphosa, however, indicated that he would nominate Maya as Zondo's deputy, subject to another JSC interview process. Given that Zondo will only serve two and a half years before his term ends, this appointment will mean that Maya will be the frontrunner to replace him.

Zondo says he looks forward to working with Maya, who he acknowledges is "an excellent judge".

"She and I have known each other for decades and we get on very well and she sent me a message of congratulations yesterday," Zondo said, adding that he had also received congratulations from fellow Chief Justice nominees, Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

Zondo said he was asked to meet Ramaphosa while in a virtual court hearing on Thursday morning and visited the president at his home after the case had concluded. It was at that meeting that the president informed him that he had been appointed as Chief Justice, Zondo said.

"I think he told me just after 3pm…I felt very humbled. I thought it's a very important appointment. I thought about the responsibilities that come with the position, of course, and I thought it's a privilege and it's an honour to be given a chance to serve in this kind of position.

"I will just have to do the best I can to make sure that the judiciary works properly and that it plays its role as envisaged in the Constitution. Of course I thought about the fact that there were three other excellent candidates so it must have been a very difficult decision on his (Ramaphosa's) part. It could not have been an easy decision," Zondo said.

Support 'has been wonderful'

Zondo said he "was overwhelmed" by messages of support received in the wake of his appointment.

"It makes you feel appreciated – and the support of ordinary South Africans has been wonderful," he said.

In reference to the Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF's) scathing attack on Ramaphosa's decision to appoint him, Zondo said "there will always be others who will criticise and I'm aware that the EFF has criticised…but most of the reactions that I have seen or heard have been very positive.

Zondo was also unperturbed by the prospect of working with EFF leader Julius Malema at the JSC, where the new Chief Justice will chair the interviews of prospective judges.

"I will work with everybody and I'll work with all the JSC members. I will work with Mr Malema, I will work with [Jacob Zuma's advocate] Dali Mpofu and I actually think that we'll work very well," he said, adding that – during the October 2021 JSC interviews that he had chaired as Acting Chief Justice – "we had worked very well".

"Because some of the statements that Mr Malema had made against me prior to the October session of the JSC, I didn't know what to expect from him during the interviews. But he was very cooperative, he was very courteous to me, he was respectful, he was something I had not expected…Not once did he show any rudeness towards me during that session. And I really appreciated the cooperation."