Languages: 
Walter Sisulu University alumna and president of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, Justice Mandisa Maya was recently appointed as Chancellor of the University of Mpumalanga.
On 1 July 2021, Maya succeeded president Cyril Ramaphosa who has been the Chancellor of the university since 2016. Her nomination to serve as the Chancellor of the University of Mpumalanga was approved at a special meeting of the university’s council held on 29 June 2021.
Justice Maya began her legal career when she obtained her B.Proc degree at WSU in the 1980s and in 2019 the university awarded her a Doctor of Laws degree (Honoris Causa).
When honoured by WSU in 2019, Dr Maya said: “I have received many accolades from many institutions, but this one makes me shed tears of joy. It is closest to my heart.
“Preparing for today has been a grand event in my head, a sweet, sentimental trip down memory lane. When I sat down to think about what I would say to you a flood of memories and emotions washed over me. My reflections took me back to the university’s early days, its humble beginnings as the former University of Transkei [Unitra] and its odyssey over the years.”
This Tsolo born woman of action is also the current president of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and became the first woman in South Africa to occupy the position as the president of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Her contribution to the country’s democratic institutions and jurisprudence dates back from 1994 when she served as a case investigator for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) during the first democratic South African elections. Subsequently, she practiced as an advocate until she was appointed as a judge in 1999.
Maya is also a member of the South African Judicial Service Commission, which manages the appointment of judges and all matters relating to the judiciary and the administration of justice. She is also a member and adjudicator of the National Bar Examination Board and as well as the chairperson of its appeal tribunal.
- Anita Roji
