Capacity: Judge
First appointed as a Judge: June 2023 (North West Division)
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Black African
Date of Birth: October 1972
Qualifications: B.Juris (1994) LLB (1996) (UKZN), LLM (2007) (UP)
Key Judgments:
- RATA Social Services NPC, Klerksdorp and Others v Member of the Executive Council for Social Development, North West Province (2025/230965) [2026] ZANWHC 21 (9 February 2026)
- Matlhake v Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims and Others (M456/2019) [2024] ZANWHC 61
- V.F v S.C.M-C (2025-126867) [2026] ZAGPJHC 23 (16 January 2026)
Candidate Biography | Updated August 2026:
Judge Sandiwa Mfenyana is a High Court Judge in South Africa, currently serving in the North West Division.
Judge Mfenyana had a long, varied legal career before joining the bench. Over more than two decades, she moved across a remarkably broad range of legal and public sector roles, working as a legal aid lawyer, researcher, compliance officer and legal investigator at the National Intelligence Agency, among others.
Mfenyana has built an impressive academic portfolio alongside her varied legal career. Her qualifications span several areas of law and include a BJuris and LLB from the then University of Durban-Westville (now UKZN), as well as an LLM and a Postgraduate Certificate in Energy Law from the University of Pretoria. She has also pursued specialised training in emerging and highly technical fields, earning a Certificate in the Legal Aspects of eCommerce from UNISA and a Certificate in Air, Space and Telecommunications from Wits.
In 2009, Mfenyana entered private practice and established Mfenyana Attorneys. Her practice covered several areas, including commercial law, administrative law litigation, aviation law and energy law. Her unusual range of specialist qualifications also reflects these interests.
Her path to the bench began through acting appointments. She served as an acting judge in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng divisions from 2018. In her 2021 JSC interview, commissioners noted both her unusually broad legal training and the fact that she had personally argued matters in the High Court and Labour Court. She was appointed to the North West Division of the High Court in June 2023.
Mfenyana has since handed down a broad range of High Court judgments. Recent judgments show her dealing with civil claims, criminal appeals, constitutional and administrative law disputes, medical negligence claims, commercial disputes and unlawful arrest cases.
One of her more significant recent judgments is RATA Social Services NPC v MEC for Social Development, North West Province. The case concerned funding for non-profit organisations providing social and child protection services. The organisations challenged the provincial Department of Social Development’s decision to refuse funding for the 2025/26 financial year. Mfenyana reviewed the decision and ordered relief in favour of the organisations, including an order requiring the respondent to conclude service-level agreements. The case places administrative law principles alongside the constitutional protection of children and the provision of social services.
The ruling in [VF… v SCM-C…] demonstrates Judge Mfenyana’s commitment to the paramountcy of the child’s best interests. She considered the impact of the child’s lengthy daily commute and the conflict between the parents, emphasising the High Court’s role as upper guardian of minor children.
Mfenyana has also dealt with a traditional leadership dispute in Matlhake v Commission on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims, where she emphasised the rule of law in decision-making. The judgment also demonstrates her contribution to the development of African jurisprudence.
Her judicial work has not been confined to the North West. In 2025, she sat in the Gauteng Division, Pretoria, and in 2026 she has appeared on the Gauteng High Court’s Johannesburg rolls. Mfenyana’s judicial career therefore combines an unconventional professional background with a growing body of judgments across public law, personal injury, criminal appeals, commercial disputes and social rights litigation.
Her extensive experience across specialist areas of law, together with her leadership and judicial experience, positions her to make a valuable contribution to the Gauteng High Court, especially by strengthening constitutional and administrative law and making it easier for people to access justice.
April 2023 JSC Interview
Ms Sandiswa Mfenyana.’s interview was successful. The JSC has recommended her for appointment to the North West Division of the High Court
April 2022 JSC Interview
Ms Sandiswa Mfenyana.’s interview for a position in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court was unsuccessful. She was not nominated for appointment,
October 2021 Interview
October 2021 Interview Synopsis
Ms Sandisiwe Mfenyana has a string of qualifications in a wide spectrum of legal fields: energy law, telecommunications, space, e-Commerce, and even air law. In a comment at the beginning of Mfenyana’s interview, Acting Chief Justice Zondo remarked that he liked the diversity in the certificates Mfenyana acquired, “it’s an unusual diversity” he said, asking what motivated her to pursue these qualifications. Mfenyana said it was first inspired by her curiosity but also her desire to serve her clients better, in the niche areas of business they were in. Zondo also said he was impressed that Mfenyana as an attorney had argued cases herself in the High Court and the Labour Court.
Mfenyana has been acting as a judge at various times since 2018 but has chalked up about 11 applications for permission to appeal her judgments (but only 3 succesful). Professor Engela Schlemmer says the 11 seem quite a lot and asked whether the number of appeal applications should concern the JSC. Mfenyana replied that she has written dozens of judgments, and only 11 appeal applications, and even for those, only 3 were successful and added that this was “not too bad”.
Although Mfenyana answered most questions adequately, he was unsuccessful in his interview. This is probably a reflection of how tough this October 2021 Eastern Cape round was (with at least four silks and a senior professor being interviewed). This is a far cry from the Eastern Cape rounds of the past where some candidates were simply unappointable.