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Frans Legodi
Judge President of the Mpumalanga High Court
In office
1 August 2017 – 21 August 2023
Appointed byJacob Zuma
DeputySegopotje Mphahlele
Preceded byDivision established
Succeeded bySegopotje Mphahlele
Judge of the High Court
In office
1 October 2004 – 31 July 2017
Appointed byThabo Mbeki
DivisionGauteng
Personal details
Born
Malesela Francis Legodi

(1954-07-09) 9 July 1954 (age 70)
Ga-Maphoto, Transvaal
Union of South Africa
Alma materUniversity of the North

Malesela Francis Legodi (born 9 July 1954) is a South African retired judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was the first Judge President of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court from August 2017 to August 2023. He joined the bench in October 2004 as a puisne judge of the Gauteng Division. Before that, he was a practising attorney in Mpumalanga.

Early life and education

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Legodi was born on 9 July 1954 on a farm near Ga-Maphoto in the former Northern Transvaal.[1][2] He was the seventh of eight siblings and grew up in the nearby township of Ga-Maja outside Polokwane.[3] He matriculated in 1975 at Mokomene High School in Soekmekaar and went on to the University of the North the following year.[1][3] Initially registered for a BCom degree, he soon transferred to a BProc and, after a brief hiatus from 1978 to 1979 due to a lack of funds, he graduated in 1981.[1][2]

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After his graduation, Legodi spent a year working at the magistrate's court in Lebowakgomo, where he was an interpreter, clerk, and prosecutor.[2] In 1982, he began his articles of clerkship at the firm of Ngoepe and Machaka, Bernard Ngoepe's firm of attorneys.[2] He moved to Mbombela, Eastern Transvaal in 1984 in order to join the firm of Phosa, Mojapele & Partners, led by Phineas Mojapelo and Mathews Phosa; he was a legal assistant there until October 1986, when he was admitted as an attorney.[1][2]

In February 1987,[1] Legodi partnered with A. K. Khoza to launch Legodi, Khoza & Partners, a firm of attorneys in Bushbuckridge.[2] The firm specialized in human rights cases,[2] and Legodi was a senior partner until 1996, when he opened his own solo practice, Francis Legodi & Associates.[1] He ran his solo practice until he joined the bench in 2004.[1] During that time, he was the chairperson of the Mpumalanga Parks Board from 1996 to 1998 and an acting judge in the Pretoria High Court on several occasions from 2000 onwards.[1]

Gauteng High Court: 2004–2017

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In July 2004, President Thabo Mbeki announced that, on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, he would appoint Legodi as a permanent judge in the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa.[4] Legodi took office on 1 October 2004 and sat in the Pretoria High Court.[5] Among other prominent matters, Legodi presided in the General Council of the Bar's application to have prosecutors Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi struck from the roll of advocates due to deficient conduct. Legodi granted the bar's application,[6] but his order was overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal.[7][8]

In addition to his service in the High Court, Legodi was appointed as the chairperson of the Military Appeal Court in 2007 and as the chairperson of the Magistrates Commission in 2010.[1] He was also an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2013 and 2014.[5]

Seriti Commission

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In October 2011, President Jacob Zuma appointed Legodi to the three-member Seriti Commission, the commission of inquiry into alleged corruption in the 1999 Arms Deal. However, Legodi resigned from that position in July 2013, shortly before the commission's hearings began;[9] although the Presidency said that he had retired for confidential personal reasons,[10] the Mail & Guardian reported that he had been sidelined by the commission's chairperson, Willie Seriti.[11]

Judicial Service Commission nominations

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During his 13 years in the Gauteng High Court, Legodi was unsuccessfully shortlisted for promotion on four occasions. He was one of 24 candidates interviewed for four vacancies in the Constitutional Court in September 2009;[12][13] one of three candidates interviewed for the position of Judge President of the Gauteng High Court in April 2012 (a position awarded to Dunstan Mlambo);[14][15][16] one of seven candidates interviewed for the position of Judge President of the Limpopo High Court in April 2015 (a position awarded to Ephraim Makgoba);[17] and one of seven candidates shortlisted for two vacancies in the Supreme Court of Appeal in March 2016,[18] though, in that case, he withdrew his candidacy before the interviews were held.[19]

Mpumalanga High Court: 2017–2023

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In 2016, when the Gauteng High Court established a civil circuit court in Mpumalanga Province, Legodi began spending a large amount of time in the province ahead of the establishment of a free-standing Mpumalanga Division of the High Court.[3][5][20] In April 2017, he was the sole candidate interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission for the position of Judge President of the Mpumalanga Division.[21] The Judicial Service Commission recommended him for appointment, and President Zuma confirmed his appointment with effect from 1 August 2017.[22] The Mpumalanga Division held its first sitting in Mbombela in May 2019, with Legodi presiding over two criminal matters, and President Cyril Ramaphosa officially opened the new court in November 2019.[23]

Legodi retired from the judiciary on 21 August 2023.[20] He is commemorated by a statue in the Mbombela High Court building.[20]

Personal life

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He is married to M. M. Legodi,[1] with whom he has three adult children.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Arms Procurement Commission: Members". Department of Justice. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Introducing Mpumalanga's First Judge President" (PDF). The Judiciary: 5–6. November 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Mpumalanga High Court: Meet the Judge President". Lowvelder. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Mbeki appoints nine judges". News24. 15 July 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "JSC Candidates Judge Frans Legodi April 2017". Judges Matter. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ^ "NPA's Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi struck off the roll of advocates". The Mail & Guardian. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  7. ^ "General Council of the Bar of SA to appeal SCA ruling on Jiba". The Mail & Guardian. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  8. ^ "ConCourt dismisses case to have Jiba and Mrwebi struck from the roll". The Mail & Guardian. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Legodi resigns from arms commission on eve of hearings". The Mail & Guardian. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Judge Legodi quits arms deal probe". Sowetan. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Arms body judge Legodi bows out". The Mail & Guardian. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  12. ^ "You be the judge". News24. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  13. ^ "It's a very touchy issue, says judge". IOL. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Interrogating the judges". The Mail & Guardian. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  15. ^ "Commission wants Mlambo appointed to head North and South Gauteng High Courts". News24. 24 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  16. ^ "JSC: A tale of two interviews". News24. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Interviews held for judge president". Polokwane Observer. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Judges fail to apply for vacancy at top court". Business Day. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  19. ^ "JSC Candidates Judge Frans Legodi 2016". Judges Matter. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "Judge President Legodi bows out". Lowvelder. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  21. ^ Chabalala, Jeanette (4 April 2017). "JSC recommends 4 judges for ConCourt". News24. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  22. ^ "President Jacob Zuma appoints judges to different courts". South African Government. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Judge President Legodi promises fair and fearless judgments at the Mpumalanga Division". De Rebus. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
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