Qinisile Mabuza

Qinisile Mabuza is a Swazi Judge, and was the first female Judge appointed in Swaziland. She was also the first female attorney when she was appointed in 1978.

Qinisile Mabuza
Judge of the COMESA Court of Justice
Assumed office
2015
Appointed byKing Mswati III
Personal details
NationalitySwazi
ProfessionAttorney, Judge

Career

Qinisile Mabuza became the first female attorney in Swaziland when she was admitted in 1978, and went on to become the first female judge.[1] In 2010, she oversaw a decision which gave Swazi women equal rights in property ownership, saying that there had been sufficient time since the adoption of the Swaziland Constitution in 2005 "to embark on aggressive law reforms, especially those relating to women who have been marginalised over the years in many areas of the law".[2] She was the only female Swazi Judge at this time,[3] although a second female Judge has since been appointed.[1] Mabuza was part of a fact finding team which travelled to Zambia on behalf of the International Court of Justice to investigate the circumstances around the suspension of three Judges there.[4]

The Swaziland media reported in 2014 that Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi had issued warrants for the arrest of three Judges, and had requested that police monitor the actions of Mabuza. This was denied, but said to be in response to their opposition of appointment of junior Judge Mpendulo Simelane.[5] King Mswati III endorsed Mabuza as a representative on the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Court of Justice in 2015. This was against the advice of Ramodibedi, who had instead pushed for Simelane to represent Swaziland at the court. Mabuza was subsequently voted as the head of the COMESA Court of First Instance in September 2016.[6]

See also

References
  1. Dlamini, Welcome (28 September 2014). "All is not well - Judge Qinisile". Swazi Observer. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  2. Phakathi, Mantoe (5 March 2010). "RIGHTS-SWAZILAND: Property Rights At Last for Women". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  3. Otieno, Janet (8 March 2010). "Property rights: A mockery for Swazi women". Africa Review. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  4. "Word for word: What International jurists said on suspension of judges". Zambia Watchdog. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  5. "Judges' arrests on hold as Swazi furore continues". amaBhungane. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  6. Jele, Linda (17 September 2016). "Judge Qinisile Lands Top Post". Swazi Observer. Press Reader. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
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