Outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondos term as a constitutional justice is coming to an end. He will retire after his 12-year non-renewable term ends this month. Zondo was appointed Chief Justice by President Cyril Ramaphosa, effectively from the 1st of April 2022, following the retirement of Mogoeng Mogoeng. The 64-year-old Zondos last day before retirement is 31 August, with his last judgment on Wednesday 21 August.
Chief Justice Zondo was appointed as a Constitutional Court justice by former President Jacob Zuma in August 2012. But his appointment was effective from the 1st of September in the same year.
Zondo was later appointed Deputy Chief Justice. His personal experience of how he became a judge, as related during the Judicial Service Commission interview for the deputy Chief Justice position in 2017, was an emotional one. He shared how a businessman from Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal, came to his rescue, to help him feed his family while he studied.
"Very interestingly that man didnt even ask me many questions. He said ok I can help you. But I can't give you money. But I can give you a voucher which you must give to your mom. Once a month she must come to my shop and she will be given groceries up to the value, I think it was R20 if Im not mistaken or R40. It was quite some money back then. And he said, until you finish your degree this is what well do, and you can repay it after your degree. So, I was very happy he didnt ask me to sign anything he just took my word and my mom could not believe when I came back from town and told her that I have been able to make arrangements so that they would be able to have groceries while I was studying."
He remembered how he wanted to repay the money to the Good Samaritan.
