Mahube Molemela

Mahube Betty Molemela (; born 18 March 1965) is a South African judge who has been the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal since 1 June 2023. Before her appointment to the Supreme Court in June 2018, she was the first woman Judge President of the Free State High Court from 2015 to 2018. A former attorney, she was appointed to the bench in the Free State in July 2008.

Early life and education Molemela was born on 18 March 1965 in Bloemfontein in the former Orange Free State, now the Free State. She matriculated in 1981 at Albert Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu outside Bloemfontein, and she subsequently enrolled at the University of Fort Hare, where she completed her BA and BProc degrees.

Soon afterwards, in October 2014, the Judicial Service Commission recommended her promotion to become Judge President of the Free State High Court, and she took office on 1 January 2015. She was the second woman judge president in South Africa, after Monica Leeuw of the North West High Court, and the first in the Free State. During her tenure as Judge President, she was seconded as an acting judge to the Constitutional Court from January to May 2015 and as an acting judge to the Supreme Court of Appeal from December 2016 to September 2017. and in 2017, she nullified the results of a Free State ANC elective conference, which had implications for voting at the party's 54th National Conference and which had the effect of stripping Ace Magashule of his party office.

Supreme Court of Appeal: 2018–present On 10 April 2018, Molemela was interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission for appointment to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. She was one of three candidates recommended by the commission for appointment, and President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her to the bench with effect from 1 June 2018. although the interviews were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and were not held until April 2021. During her interview, on 13 April, members of the Judicial Service Commission expressed concern about Molemela's rapid ascension through the ranks of the judiciary, with Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng asking her, "Why does it look like you can't stay in one place, to influence that place significantly, before you can move on? Why do you appear to be moving so soon after elevation to a particular position?"

The Judicial Service Commission did not recommend Molemela for appointment in April, but the appointment process was subsequently rerun following a court challenge by the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution. Molemela was therefore interviewed again in October 2021, and on that occasion she was one of five candidates recommended for appointment. However, there were only three vacancies on the Constitutional Court, and Molemela was not appointed.

In March 2022, Molemela was nominated to the shortlist for two new vacancies at the Constitutional Court. Following her interview in April 2022, the Judicial Service Commission again recommended her for appointment, and the President again declined to appoint her.

President of the Supreme Court: 2023–present In February 2023, the Presidency announced that Molemela was President Ramaphosa's sole nominee to replace Mandisa Maya as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal. She was interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission on 17 April, and the Daily Maverick reported that her interview went well, with Chief Justice Raymond Zondo complimenting her judicial record and Molemela "mostly [holding] her ground solidly, though some will have perceived a certain degree of fence-sitting... relating to her personal jurisprudential philosophy."

The Commission recommended her appointment soon after the interview. The recommendation was welcomed by opposition political parties, by the non-profit Judges Matter, and by the General Council of the Bar, which complimented her "deep and thorough knowledge of the law, including constitutional law". She is the second woman president, Maya having been the first.

In June 2019, Molemela was awarded an honorary LLD by her alma mater, the University of the Free State.

Personal life She is married to Sello Molemela; her father-in-law, Rantlai Petrus "Whitehead" Molemela, was the owner of Bloemfontein Celtic and a well-known figure in Bloemfontein. and is a member of the Catholic Women's League and International Association of Women Judges.