Minister blames apartheid for dysfunctional courts
· The South African
More than 30 years into democracy and apartheid is still scarring South Africa’s court system. This is the opinion of Mmamoloko Kubayi, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development in South Africa. Briefing the media earlier this week, Kubayi conceded that post-1994 South Africa has inherited a judiciary that’s ‘barely changed.’ As a result, ordinary South Africans living in former homelands and rural areas are the ones suffering.
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“The legacy of colonialism and apartheid continues to plague South Africa’s judicial system. There are spatial injustices that impede access to courts for communities in defunct homelands and self-governing territories,” said Kubayi. As such, in a bid to tackle the imbalance, government has come up with a new rationalisation plan.
APARTHEID LEGACY IN COURTS
The initiative doesn’t start from scratch. Instead, it builds on the Interim Rationalisation of Jurisdiction of the High Court’s Act (2001). And province-by-province redrawing of magisterial districts that have been ongoing since 2014. The rollout begins on next month, on 1 July 2026, in two phases.
The first phase focuses on quick wins. This is aimed at changes to magisterial districts and sub-districts. Alongside this, the Department of Justice has revised its rules for appointing acting judges, hoping to grow judicial posts by 20% across the High Court divisions.
Phase two of the anti-apartheid reform is a staged rollout of new local court seats. Five divisions are earmarked for expansion in:
- Gauteng, Palm Ridge
- Free State, Welkom
- North West, Rustenburg
- Northern Cape, Upington
- Western Cape, Thembalethu
EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE
Moreover, Kubayi tied the announcement to a bigger anniversary, namely 30 years since South Africa adopted its constitution. She also framed it as part of an unfinished constitutional obligation. “As we move with consolidation of court administration and judicial governance, merging magistrates and judges into a single judiciary to enhance independence, we must also ensure access to justice for all,” said Kubayi.
Critically, Kubayi’s diagnosis that spatial planning under apartheid still dictates who can access state services today, is echoed in other sectors of South African life. Housing is perhaps the starkest example in non-priority Black communities. Healthcare and education tells a similar story, with geographics compounding existing inequalities. Unsurprisingly, the economy itself remains split along old apartheid lines. A 2024 United Nations human rights report found that close to 80% of South Africa’s wealth sits with just 10% of the population.
But what do you think? Are the vast majority of residents still living under the scarred legacy of apartheid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below …