Mbuyiseli Madlanga
Mbuyiseli Russel Madlanga (born 27 March 1962, Njijini village near Mount Frere, Eastern Cape) is a retired Constitutional Court Justice who chairs the Madlanga Commission — formally the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference, and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System. He served twelve years on the Constitutional Court (2013–2025), appointed by President Jacob Zuma, and served as Acting Deputy Chief Justice following Mandisa Maya’s elevation to Chief Justice in 2024.
Education and early career: B Iuris (University of Transkei / now Walter Sisulu University, 1983); LLB (Rhodes University, 1986); LLM cum laude (University of Notre Dame, 1990 — scholarship). 1987–1989: law lecturer at the University of Transkei (customary law, delict, contract). During undergraduate studies, worked as court interpreter at Mount Frere Magistrate’s Court and was politically active, with close ties to anti-apartheid activists.
Judicial career:
- 1991: returned to South Africa; pupillage in Johannesburg; opened private practice as advocate in Mthatha (admission moved by friend Tholie Madala; Sandile Ngcobo was a colleague)
- 1 September 1996: appointed to bench of Transkei Division of the High Court; later served as acting Judge President
- 1998–1999: acting judge, Supreme Court of Appeal
- 2000–2001: acting justice, Constitutional Court (at Arthur Chaskalson’s invitation)
- 2001: resigned from bench; returned to private practice
- 2004: appeared on behalf of South Africa before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the Israeli Separation Wall advisory opinion case
- 1 July 2009: appointed Deputy Chairperson of the Competition Tribunal
- 1 August 2013: appointed permanently to Constitutional Court for a 12-year term, replacing Zak Yacoob (appointed by President Jacob Zuma)
- 2024: served as Acting Deputy Chief Justice following Mandisa Maya’s elevation to Chief Justice
- 2025: retired at end of 12-year Constitutional Court term
Madlanga Commission: Following retirement, Madlanga was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to chair the commission bearing his name. Established July 2025 in response to KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations of organised crime infiltration of the criminal justice system, the commission has been one of South Africa’s most consequential post-Zondo accountability inquiries.
Connections
- Madlanga Commission — chairs the inquiry; commission named after him
- Cyril Ramaphosa — appointed by Ramaphosa to chair the commission
- Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi — Mkhwanazi’s allegations were the commission’s founding trigger; first commission witness