Capacity: Advocate
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Date of Birth: January 1961
Qualifications: B.Proc (1988)(University of Limpopo) LLB (2002) LLM (2003)(UP) LLM (2018)(UNISA)
Candidate Biography (Updated September 2024):
Advocate Ledwaba has a rich and varied legal career, which has mainly focused on Constitutional Law and Labour Law. He started out as an administrative clerk at the Department of Justice, in both the civil and criminal courts. Ledwaba moved through the ranks and became the clerk of the court, an interpreter and later a prosecutor.
Advocate Ledwaba resigned from the Justice Department to pursue his legal studies at the University of Limpopo, where he obtained his first degree (B.Proc)in 1988. He was later admitted as an attorney in 1993. In quick succession, Ledwaba obtained an LLB and an LLM (specialising in human rights and constitutional practice) from the University of Pretoria in 2002 and 2003, respectively. Ledwaba’s studiousness emerged again in 2018 when he earned another LLM in labour law from Unisa.
Between 1994 and 2006 Ledwaba practiced at and served as Director at the firm he co-founded, Moima-Ledwaba Incorporated, focusing on criminal law matters. After more than a decade of practice, Ledwaba joined the Bar in 2007.
Ledwaba has presided as a part-time commissioner in the Small Claims Court, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and Bargaining Councils. As a CCMA and Bargaining Councils Commissioner, he facilitated conciliations, mediations and presided over arbitrations in labour disputes.
Advocate Ledwaba is occasionally appointed as a pro-forma prosecutor in terms of section 31(2)(c) of the Property Valuers Profession Act in the prosecution of registered members of the South African Council for the Property Valuers Profession (Council) for ethical violations. This role entails drawing up charge sheets, leading witnesses on behalf of the Council, and cross-examining property professionals accused of misconduct.
Advocate Ledwaba has also been appointed by the Department of Labour as a Presiding Officer, in terms of section 4(2)(a) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA). This role entails presiding over compensation claims resulting from injuries, diseases, or death in the workplace.
Advocate Ledwaba has acted as a judge in the Limpopo and North Gauteng Divisions of the High Court for a total of 68 weeks since 2019. During these acting stints, Ledwaba has sat in both the criminal and civil court. In the criminal court, he dealt with appeals, bail petitions and automatic reviews. In the civil court, he sat in the motion court (opposed and unopposed) and also dealt with civil trials, urgent court applications and appeals.
During his acting stint in the Limpopo High Court, Advocate Ledwaba presided over cases like Sindane v Minister of Police, where the issue of vicarious liability against the Minister of Police had to be considered. On 14 March 2013 Mr Sindane, the plaintiff, was arrested based on rape allegations. He was assaulted while in police custody. He was granted bail on 12 April 2013. During his detention he applied for bail and the bail application was postponed on three occasions. As a result, Sindane was detained for almost one month without his bail hearing taking place, due to the unavailability of the prosecuting officer. On 4 February 2014, the rape charges against Sindane were withdrawn as the prosecutor declined to prosecute. Sindane lodged a dispute claiming that his detention was unlawful. Ledwaba found that on a balance of probabilities, the detention of Sindane beyond the first court appearance was indeed unlawful.
Ledwaba’s 2021 judgment in Mohuba v The University of Limpopo has since been overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The plaintiff in this matter was a registered student at the University of Limpopo, the defendant, reading towards a Doctor in Commerce and sought an order directing the defendant to confer the degree. The defendant had terminated the plaintiff’s registration as a student and refused to confer the degree. The plaintiff averred that their acceptance of the offer of study constituted a contract between the two parties, and thus raised specific performance, while the defendant maintained that its decision regarding de-registration was administrative in nature and thus reviewable in terms of PAJA.
Ledwaba asserted that the prayers sought by the plaintiff in the form of specific performance must be legally enforceable. As the plaintiff is no longer a student of the defendant due to their de-registration, conferral of the degree would amount to an illegality. Ledwaba’s order upholding the defendant’s special plea was dismissed and replaced by the SCA, and the matter was remitted to the High Court for trial. The SCA found Ledwaba’s reasoning regarding specific performance and the special plea “difficult to follow” and his focus on whether the relationship between student and university was one of contract or public law, unnecessary.
The upcoming interview in October will be Ledwaba’s third attempt at being appointed to the Limpopo High Court. Hopefully, with more acting experience gained it will be third time lucky for him as he is running out of years that he can serve on the judiciary at 63 years old.
October 2023 Interview:
October 2023 Interview Synopsis:
Commissioner Semenya, Acting Judge President of the Limpopo Division of the High Court, highlighted the poor representation of women in the Limpopo Division. The Thohoyandou local division, to which Advocate Ledwaba was applying, had no woman judges. Semenya asked Ledwaba whether his appointment, given this state of affairs, sent the message that the JSC was not serious about transformation. Ledwaba stated that his candidature was based on the requirements of being fit and proper in terms of the Constitution, and the rest was up to the JSC.
The DCJ returned to the question, pointing out that section 174(2) of the Constitution requires that the appointment of the judiciary must be cognisant of the racial and gender composition of the country. Ledwaba acknowledged this, and said that section 174(2) deals with the national level whereas he thought Commissioner Semenya was talking about the provincial level.
Commissioner Ngcukaitobi added to the discussion. Suggesting that the appointment of Advocate Ledwaba may be a stumbling block to transformation relating to gender representation of judges in the relevant court, Ngcukaitobi asked where there were exceptional features, beyond mere experience to which Ledwaba had already alluded, compelling enough to justify his appointment. Ledwaba again fell back on his past experience highlighted in his application.
Advocate Ledwaba was unsuccessful in his interview.
April 2022 Interview:
April 2022 Interview Synopsis:
Advocate Ledwaba’s April 2022 interview for a position on the Limpopo High Court was unsuccessful. He was not nominated for appointment.
