John Heher

Jonathan Arthur Heher (born 16 June 1943) is a South African retired judge who served in the Supreme Court of Appeal from 2003 to 2013. Formerly an advocate and Senior Counsel in Johannesburg, he joined the bench in 1993 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division.

Early life and education Heher was born on 16 June 1943 in Mowbray, a suburb of Cape Town. He attended Overport Primary School and matriculated in 1959 at Durban High School. Thereafter he attended the University of Natal, where he completed a BA in 1962 and an LLB in 1964. His order was unanimously upheld by the Constitutional Court in the landmark National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice.

Heher was also an acting judge in the Supreme Court of Appeal between late 2001 and 2002.

Fees Commission: 2016–2017 In January 2016, amid the Fees Must Fall protests, President Jacob Zuma appointed Heher to chair a three-member commission of inquiry tasked with investigating the feasibility of fee-free higher education and training in South Africa. The commission began its public hearings in August 2016, and, though initially given only an eight-month mandate, it did not submit its final report until 30 August 2017. In his report, Heher recommended major investment in TVET institutions, but recommended that university education should be funded through income-contingent student loans underwritten by government.

Personal life He is married to Lorna Lynette Pentz, with whom he has two children. He was formerly a mediator in disciplinary matters of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.