Today we celebrate two trailblazing African women in law: Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya
South Africa’s first female Chief Justice Mandisa Maya is set to take over from Chief Justice Raymond Zondo when his term comes to an end on 31 August 2024.
In her career, Chief Justice Maya has distinguished herself as a brilliant legal mind and groundbreaker. Her judicial record and her leadership qualities make her ideally suited to the position of Chief Justice.
Education: – BProc, University of Transkei, 1986.
- LLB, University of Natal, 1988.
- LLM Labour Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution & Constitutional Law Duke University School of Law, 1990.
Career:
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya practiced as an advocate until her elevation to the bench in 1999. She has sat in various divisions of the High Court and the Labour Court before advancing to the Appellate Court and has acted as a Judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Supreme Court of Namibia and the Appeal Court of Lesotho. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya became the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2015 and the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2017.
She was the first woman to hold the positions of Deputy President and President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. Amongst her many achievements, she is also the current Vice-President of the International Association of Women Judges.
Chief Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo
Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo (born 7 May 1958), popularly known as Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, is a Nigerian jurist and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (from 22 August 2024). She is a trailblazer in the Nigerian legal fraternity. She was appointed as Chief Justice following the retirement of Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Her appointment makes her the second woman to become Nigeria’s Chief Justice after Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar.
Education: – Bachelor’s degree in Law, University of Lagos, 1980.
– Master’s degree in Law, London School of Economics, 1983.
Career:
Chief Justice Kudirat joined the Lagos State Judiciary as Senior Magistrate II and rose to the position of the State High Court Judge. She served as Chairman of Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja between November 1996 to May 1999. From 2004, she was appointed to the bench of the Nigerian courts of appeal. In 2013, she was appointed as Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Among her many awards, in October 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred the Nigerian national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on her.
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