Durban - The South African chapter of the International Association of Women Judges is confident that Judge Thoba Portia Poyo-Dlwati will lead the KwaZulu-Natal division of the High Court with excellence, as she had proved herself to be a thoughtful and decisive leader.
Judge Poyo-Dlwati’s appointment as KZN’s judge president will create the second-most senior woman head of court in the country after Chief Justice Mandisa Maya.
Judge Poyo-Dlwati was interviewed for the position on Friday last week and said that in addressing transformation she would ensure the appointment of more women to the KZN bench, where only 11 of the 27 judges were women.
She highlighted the need to appoint more judges in the province, stating that, compared with other divisions, KZN was struggling. With an estimated population of more than 11 million, the province required at least 60 more judges.
Under her leadership, accountability and efficiency, adequate resourcing, court modernisation, digitisation to provide better access to justice, and diversity would be the order of the day.
Sadia Jacobs, vice-president of publications at the International Association of Women Judges, said Judge Poyo-Dlwati was the organisation’s current deputy president, elected last year.
Despite her hectic schedule, she had been an active member in KZN community outreach programmes. Judge Poyo-Dlwati has a remarkable ability to inspire others.
She has demonstrated her passion to empower junior colleagues and continues to inspire young legal minds by volunteering as a mentor and participating in the mentorship programme currently being conducted in KZN.
“Most importantly, as the deputy president of (the association), and as a result of the many commitments of the association’s president, Chief Justice Maya, Judge Poyo-Dlwati has often been called upon to head (the association). This she has done with distinction,” Jacobs said.
Judge Poyo-Dlwati was appointed acting deputy judge president earlier this year by Deputy Judge President Isaac Madondo. The position of judge president became available when Justice Achmat Jappie retired last year.
Judge Poyo-Dlwati, 48, hails from the Eastern Cape. She completed her BProc degree at Walter Sisulu University. She furthered her studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and received a commercial law certificate in 2005.
She moved to Pietermaritzburg in 1996 and worked as a high school teacher in Edendale. A year later, she joined Jenny Budree & Associates to do her articles of clerkship. She later joined Hoskins & Ngcobo Attorneys while completing her candidacy. While at this firm, she climbed the ladder to become a director in 2000.
Later that year, she opened her own firm, Ngcobo Poyo & Diedricks, where she worked until she was permanently appointed as a judge in 2014. She has held many leadership positions over the years, becoming the KZN Law Society’s first black woman vice-president in 2003 and the organisation’s president in 2008.
Between 2007 and 2014, she was the secretary of the KZN SA Women Lawyers’ Association and became the vice-president in 2008, remaining in that position until 2010. She also served as president of the SADC Lawyers’ Association for two years. Between 2003 and 2011 she sat as an expert assessor in several criminal trials until she was appointed acting judge of the KZN High Court in 2012.
She also acted as a Supreme Court of Appeal judge from 2020 until the end of May. According to Mbekezeli Benjamin, researcher at the Judges Matter campaign, Judge Poyo-Dlwati has penned several judgments of significant public importance that developed the law. He mentioned a case involving a mother of two minor children who faced charges of murder for shooting and killing her boyfriend.
“Poyo-Dlwati held that the interests of society to punish crime demanded that the woman be imprisoned. However, leaving the children without their primary caregiver for a long period would not be in their interests. “Therefore she sentenced the woman to five years’ imprisonment and ordered that the children stay with an aunt in the meantime.
The judgment has since been followed in subsequent cases and endorsed by others,” Benjamin said. In July, Judge Poyo-Dlwati sentenced Sobantu township triple murderer Njabulo Ndlovu to five life terms. The judge said Ndlovu showed no empathy or mercy, and his sentence was meant to deter would-be killers.
Acting Judge President Isaac Masondo and Judge Esther Steyn were also interviewed for the job. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to approve the JSC’s recommendation to appoint Judge Poyo-Dlwati soon.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE