Capacity: Advocate
Admission as advocate: 1998
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: African
Date of Birth: July 1969
Qualifications: B.Juris (1992), LLB (1993) (University of Limpopo)
Key judgments:
- Mokhathi v Road Accident Fund (2016 ZAGPPHC 104)
- Nakeli and Another v Sello and Another (2023/91850) [2023] ZAGPJHC 1070 (22 September 2022)
- Baloyi v Minister of Police (20987/2017) [2022] ZAGPPHC 579 (30 March 2022)
- Mhlanga v S (58/2025) [2025] ZAMPMHC 3 (17 January 2025)
Candidate Biography| Updated September 2025:
Advocate Kganki Phahlamohlaka is currently serving as an advocate, admitted and enrolled at the Gauteng local division of the High Court, Johannesburg.
Advocate Phahlamohlaka has a long and distinguished career in public service. Adv Phahlamohlaka began his legal career after completing his LLB at the University of Limpopo in 1993. He took up a position as a public prosecutor in Springs and Johannesburg, where he remained from 1994 to 1998. Subsequently, he was promoted to Senior Prosecutor in 1998, which allowed him to handle criminal trials in the High Court. In 2000, Advocate Phahlamohlaka was appointed a District Court Magistrate in Germiston and Odendaalsrus, where he presided over criminal law and civil law matters, ranging from domestic violence cases to equality court matters. He served in this position for a decade before transitioning to Acting Regional Court Magistrate in Volsloorus, in the Gauteng Regional Division. This allowed him to hear more serious matters. He stayed in this position until 2014, at which point he transitioned into private practice as an advocate.
He has an extensive history acting in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga High courts, having served thirty-eight weeks in the Gauteng High Court, between 2020 and 2023, and seventy-four weeks at the Mpumalanga High Court between 2023 and 2025. This adds up to a total of one hundred and twelve weeks served as an Acting Judge. This, it cannot be denied, speaks to his dedication and commitment to serving the judiciary, and suggests that he has experience both at the high Court level generally, and in the particular court he is interviewing for a position in.
He has also served in quasi-judicial and advisory roles, as a Presiding Officer in terms of s4(2) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, and as a member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Legal Practice Council (2021-present). In these roles, Adv Phahlamohlaka has been able to protect and promote the ideals of transparency and accountability, both within the legal field and beyond.
When deciding the case of Baloyi v Minister of Police, Adv Phahlamohlaka demonstrated this dedication in his finding against the Minister of Police and in favour of Mr Baloyi. This case followed the unlawful shooting of a rubber bullet at Mr Baloyi by members of the South African Police Services. At the time of the incident, Mr Baloyi, a student at Tshwane University of Technology, was alongside other students gathered outside the Union Building. The students had been invited to gather there by the President of the Republic of South Africa. A series of events transpired, wherein the President made the decision not to address students, and some chaos ensued. In this case, Advocate Phahlamohlaka declared the shooting unlawful, and held the Minister of Police responsible for the actions of SAPS. In this way, he used his knowledge and understanding of the law to vindicate the rights of Mr Baloyi, while holding the Minister to account.
Advocate Phahlamohlaka has been described by his peers as tirelessly dedicated to his work, to his community and to his family. He is a friend of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges and has been such since 2014. Advocate Phahlamohlaka was, in fact, one of the first men to ever join and become an active participant in SAC-IAWJ, a fact that may be said to speak to his commitment to the spirit of Ubuntu, which is understood to be foundational to our constitutional democracy. He is also a member of the Phaahla Traditional Council. He considers his commitment to transformative constitutionalism to be one of his greatest contributions to the law of his career.
October 2025 Interview:
Following deliberations on the interviews for the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, the Judicial Service Commission has resolved to advise the President to appoint Advocate K F Phahlamohlaka.