Johannesburg – Eastern Cape High Court Judge Mandela Makaula has apologised for disparaging remarks he made about legal practitioners in Mthatha in a recent Judicial Service Commission interview.
Responding to questions from Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela about high court operations, Judge Makaula stated, about legal practitioners, that: “In Mthatha, it is really different. You can’t trust anyone in Mthatha. Not unless you know them.”
However, in a statement made available to The Bulrushes on Thursday, 30 October 2025, Judge Makaula stated: “Following my recent Judicial Service Commission interview, during which I made unfortunate and disparaging remarks about legal practitioners in Mthatha, several law bodies publicly condemned my statements”.
Judge Makaula added: “I hereby withdraw the remarks I made. I also publicly, unconditionally, and sincerely apologise for those remarks, which were unfairly uttered without providing justification or evidence.
“I particularly regret painting all Mthatha practitioners with the same brush and making an unfair comparison by suggesting that the practitioners in Gqeberha conduct themselves better than those in Mthatha.
“To resolve the matter, I have mandated Advocate Dali Mpofu SC to represent me in meetings and further consultations with representatives from various law bodies, which had raised their concerns, including in the public domain.”
Judge Makaula said Advocate Mpofu informed him that after extensive deliberations, the vast majority of the participating parties have welcomed this step he has taken and agreed to a mutually negotiated resolution of the matter.
The engagements have also resulted in the following key commitments regarding the way forward:
- Henceforth, any future concerns I have will be addressed through the existing internal channels, rather than by raising them in the public domain. This will be done to maintain mutual respect between Judges and legal practitioners and to be part of the solution in respect of any underlying challenges facing the Division.
- I am also informed that the participating law bodies expressed their hope that this would be the last incident of its kind and I commit to fostering ongoing dialogue between the Judiciary, the legal profession and the public they serve. In this regard it was agreed that the process of consulting with the leadership of the relevant Bench would be kick-started immediately and hopefully come to fruition by no later than the first court term of 2026.
- Specific steps to achieve all the above goals and any other outstanding issues will be jointly explored, and further official announcements will be made in due course.
- The Acting Judge President and the Acting Deputy Judge President of the Eastern Cape Division were duly consulted and apprised of these developments before this statement was publicly released.”
“Judge Makaula will not be commenting further on this issue,” the statement said.
