Aubrey Phago Ledwaba (born 9 October 1962) is a South African

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who is currently serving as the Deputy Judge President of the

Gauteng Division The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court, superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West (South African province), North West pro ...

of the

High Court of South Africa The High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law in South Africa. It is divided into nine provinces of South Africa, provincial divisions, some of which sit in more than one location. Each High Court division has general jurisdiction ov ...

. Formerly a practising attorney in

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, he joined the bench as a

puisne Puisne (; from Old French ''puisné'', modern ''puîné'', "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin ''post-'', "after", and ''natus'', "born") is a legal term of art used mainly in British English meaning "inferior in rank". ...

judge in November 2005 and was elevated to his leadership position in July 2013. He was an acting judge in the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

in 2019 and an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal between 2020 and 2021.

Early life and education

Ledwaba was born on 9 October 1962 in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in the former

Transvaal Province The Province of Transvaal (), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Transvaal" refers to the province's ...

. He matriculated at Mamelodi High School in Pretoria in 1979 and went on to the

University of the North The University of Limpopo () is a public university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutio ...

, where he completed a BProc in 1983.

Legal career

Ledwaba began his legal career as a public prosecutor between 1983 and 1984. Thereafter he served his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two ye ...

until he was admitted as an attorney of the

Supreme Court of South Africa The Supreme Court of South Africa was a superior court of law in South Africa from 1910 to 1997. It was made up of various provincial and local divisions with jurisdiction over specific geographical areas, and an Appellate Division which was th ...

in 1986. For the next two decades, he practised as an attorney in the Transvaal (renamed

after the

end of apartheid The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

), running his own legal firm. Between 2003 and 2005, he was also a commissioner of the

Small Claims Court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants. Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it ma ...

and a member of the Magistrates Commission.

Gauteng High Court: 2005–present

On 1 November 2005, Ledwaba joined the bench as a judge of the Transvaal Division (later renamed the

) of the

. He has served in the court since then. In May 2013, President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

announced that Ledwaba would be promoted to become Deputy Judge President of the Gauteng Division with effect from 1 July 2013. His appointment, which followed interviews with the Judicial Service Commission the previous month, attracted some controversy about

affirmative action Affirmative action (also sometimes called reservations, alternative access, positive discrimination or positive action in various countries' laws and policies) refers to a set of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking ...

, given that he had been selected over two strong female candidates. During his service in the High Court, Ledwaba also held positions of responsibility elsewhere in the judiciary. He was a member of the Office of the Chief Justice's Judiciary Case Flow Management Committee and chaired its Court Interpreters Capacitation Committee between 2014 and 2016, and he was the vice chairperson of the National Council for Correctional Services from 2010 to 2013. He was appointed to the

South African Law Reform Commission The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) is a law reform commission which investigates the state of South African law and makes proposals for its reform to Parliament and the provincial legislatures. It is an independent advisory statutory ...

's Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee in 2018, and he was appointed as the chairperson of the Magistrates Commission on 1 April 2019.

Matters involving Jacob Zuma

In April 2016, Ledwaba wrote the Gauteng High Court's decision in a politically sensitive matter concerning the Arms Deal-related corruption charges against sitting President Jacob Zuma. Those charges had been dropped in April 2009 amid the spy tapes scandal, but Ledwaba set aside head prosecutor Mokotedi Mpshe's decision to drop the charges, ruling that the decision had been

irrational Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without rationality. Irrationality often has a negative connotation, as thinking and actions that are less useful or more illogical than other more rational alternatives. The concept of ...

. In a related decision, in December 2018, Ledwaba ruled that the state was not liable for the legal costs incurred by Zuma in his defence against the reinstated corruption charges. Both decisions were upheld on appeal by the Supreme Court of Appeal, and, in the latter case, Zuma was served with punitive costs for having publicly implied that Ledwaba's ruling was biased.

Deputy Judge Presidency

In August 2019, President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

successfully petitioned Ledwaba, in his capacity as Deputy Judge President, to seal elements of the evidentiary record (including Ramaphosa's bank statements) related to an unfavourable report by the Public Protector on Ramaphosa's CR17 political campaign. The Public Protector,

Busisiwe Mkhwebane Busisiwe Mkhwebane is a South African advocate and prosecutor served as the 4th Public Protector of South Africa from October 2016 until her impeachment in September 2023. Following her impeachment, she served as a Member of the National Assem ...

, objected to Ledwaba's decision to seal the record, and the opposition

Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...

(EFF) subsequently launched a formal legal challenge to the decision, seeking to have the record unsealed. However, in July 2021, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the EFF's application; the EFF was also denied leave to appeal. In 2023, acting as Judge President in the absence of Judge President Dunstan Mlambo, Ledwaba oversaw the management of the high-profile Senzo Meyiwa murder trial.

Higher courts

Between January and June 2019, Ledwaba served as an acting judge in the

Constitutional Court of South Africa The Constitutional Court of South Africa is the supreme constitutional court established by the Constitution of South Africa, and is the apex court in the South African judicial system, with general jurisdiction. The Court was first establ ...

. During that time, he wrote the Constitutional Court's unanimous judgement in ''Moyo v Minister of Police; Sonti v Minister of Police'', which struck down provisions of the apartheid-era Intimidation Act, finding them unconstitutional. He also served for a year as an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal between April 2020 and May 2021, during which time he wrote judgements in high-profile matters concerning the murders of Ahmed Timol and Matlhomola Moshoeu, among others. In February 2021, the Judicial Service Commission announced that Ledwaba had been shortlisted both for a vacancy on the Constitutional Court and for one of five vacancies at the Supreme Court of Appeal. He later withdrew his candidacy for the Constitutional Court position, but in April 2021 he was one of the eleven candidates who was interviewed for the Supreme Court vacancies. During the interview, the Judicial Service Commission panel discussed various attacks on Ledwaba's integrity, emanating from his decision to seal the CR17 bank records at President Ramaphosa's request. Ledwaba was given the opportunity to explain and defend his decision, with Supreme Court President

Mandisa Maya Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya (born 20 March 1964) is the Chief Justice of South Africa. She was formerly the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2017 to 2022 before she was elevated to the position of Deputy Chief Justice of South Afri ...

asking him directly whether he was "a corrupt judge".

Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Be ...

, the leader of the EFF and a political appointee to the commission, argued that Ledwaba should have considered Ramaphosa's petition in open court instead of in a closed meeting. After the interviews, the Judicial Service Commission did not nominate Ledwaba for elevation to the Supreme Court.

Personal life

He is married to Nomalanga Rosina Ledwaba and has three children. He is a member of the Adonai Church in

Soshanguve Soshanguve is a township situated about 30 km north of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa, just east of Mabopane. The name Soshanguve is an acronym for Sotho, Shangaan, Nguni and Venda, thus showing the multi-ethnic composition of the populat ...