Judge Thogomelani Coution Tshidada

Capacity: Judge
First admitted as an advocate: January 2010
First Appointed: April 2022
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Date of Birth: July 1979
Qualifications: LLB (University of Limpopo)

Key judgments:

• Victor Debeila v Road Accident Fund (case number: HCAA10/19)
• Rirhandzu Philadelphia Makondo o.b.o Joyce Makondo v Road Accident Fund (case number: 401/2010)
• The State v Matome David Machaba and two others (case number: CC28/2019)
• Masilo Nathaniel Kganakga v Minister of Police and another (case number: 5666/2017)

Candidate Biography

Advocate Thogomelani Coution Tshidada’s legal career started when he was clerk at the Johannesburg High Court in 2001, later becoming a judge’s registrar in the same court in 2002. Clearly, it is during this period that his aspirations for judicial office started, why he has put himself forward to be a judge in the Limpopo High Court division.

In 2008 Tshidada was admitted as an Advocate and started working at the Johannesburg High Court and at various Circuit Courts as a trial’s assessor, on an ad hoc basis. In 2009 he served pupillage and, after passing his bar exams, was thereafter admitted as a full member of the Johannesburg Bar based at the Constitutional Hill Group of Advocates.

Tshidada’s areas of interest are civil law, with specific interest in personal injury claims, medical negligence claims, unlawful arrests, detention and malicious prosecution claims, divorce actions and general commercial law. He has extensive experience in personal injury litigation.

Since 2019, Tshidada has acted as a judge in the Limpopo High Court, both in Polokwane and Thohoyandou. He has dealt with variety of cases, including civil and criminal trial, criminal appeals, opposed and unopposed motion proceedings, and urgent matters. Tshidada clearly put his extensive experience in personal injury litigation to good use.

In Victor Debeila v Road Accident Fund (case number: HCAA10/19), Tshidada was a member of a 3-judge appeal panel, and he penned the judgment. The appeal was against the dismissal of the Mr Debeila’s claim for loss of income or earning capacity, and against the lower court’s order that each party is to pay its own costs. The court of appeal considered the expert opinions of both parties in the case, which opinion was the same in key respects. Tshidada agreed with the expert opinion that, if the appellant, Mr Debeila, was to lose the ‘sympathetic employment’ from his employer at that time, he would suffer loss directly related to his impaired performance due to a road accident injury. Mr Debeila’s chance of finding alternative employment would also be limited due to the injuries he had suffered, Tshidada. Further, Tshidada determined that the facts of the case militate against the general 15% contingency deduction on the Appellant’s future loss. Tshidada supplemented the general 15% contingency deduction with 40% – this meant that Mr Debeila was entitled to great compensation. Tshidada also overturned the lower court’s costs order and awarded costs in favour of the Mr Debeila. The two other judges of appeal concurred in his judgment.

Forty-three-year-old Tshidada holds an LLB Degree from the University of Limpopo.

On Wednesday 5 October 2021, Adv Thogomelani Coution Tshidada was interviewed for a position within the Limpopo Division of the High Court. This was his first-ever appearance before the JSC. Following deliberations, no candidates were selected for nomination to the Limpopo Division of the High Court (JHB and PTA)

There are unfortunately no recordings available for Wednesday 5 October. This includes the final interviews for the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Limpopo Division of the High Court, and the Electoral Court.