Capacity: Advocate
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Date of Birth: August 1966
Qualifications: B. Com (Law) (1987) and B.Proc (1993) (University of Pretoria); LLB (2003) (University of South Africa)
Key judgments:
(1) A v Vantage Goldfields (Pty) Limited And Others (3651/2019) [2019] ZAMPMBHC 10 (11 November 2019);
(2) Ex Parte: Van Heerden (1079/2020) [2020] ZAMPMBHC 10 (27 March 2020);
(3) S v Mdluli (Cc149/17) [2018] ZAGPPHC 896 (15 March 2018);
(4) Gabaza Phikiwe Khumalo o.b.o Sipho Surprise Khumalo v RAF, Unreported Judgment, Case No. 530/17, Mpumalanga High Court (Functioning as Gauteng Division, Pretoria – Middleburg Circuit Court)
Candidate Bio:
Advocate Roelofse’s first work experience after graduation was in the Prison Service (as it was then known), and when the Head of Prison saw “Law” after his B.Com qualification, he instructed him to handle prosecutions. He was responsible for motivating the commissioned officers who presided over the trials. To motivate the reluctant officers, he built a fully-fledged courtroom in his office, which was Dimitri Stafendas’s cell. He later obtained his Diploma Juris and was appointed prosecutor before moving into the private sector.
He was admitted as an advocate in 2003 and practised in Mbombela without being a member of any Bar. He later joined the Pretoria Society of Advocates from 2008 to 2017 and was a member of the Mpumalanga Society of Advocates. He has been acting as a Judge in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga High Courts since 2018.
He faced an interesting case arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ex Parte: Van Heerden, where the applicant, a resident of Mbombela, applied for an order temporarily exempting him from the travel restrictions to attend his grandfather’s funeral in the Eastern Cape. Roelofse AJ held that whilst he had extreme sympathy for the applicant, he had to uphold the law. He held that granting the applicant the relief sought would authorise the applicant to break the law under judicial decree, something no court could do.
Advocate Roelofse holds a B. Com (Law) (1987) and B.Proc (1993) from the University of Pretoria; a Dip Juris (1991) and LLB (2003) from the University of South Africa; and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (2003) from the University of the Free State.
October 2026 JSC Interview
JSC declines to recommend Advocate Roelofse following court-ordered reconsideration.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has decided not to recommend Advocate Roelofse for appointment as a judge of the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court. The decision followed an interview on 12 October 2026 at the @Sandton Hotel in Johannesburg, which the JSC convened to comply with a Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) order to reconsider his candidacy. [Read more]
The reconsideration stemmed from a successful legal challenge by the Mpumalanga Society of Advocates (MSA), which had objected to his candidacy in October 2021 on three grounds.
First, the MSA questioned his integrity, pointing to his failure to disclose outstanding Bar fees to the JSC and his false statement in the JSC questionnaire that these had been settled.
Second, it cited his disruptive and abrasive temperament and inadequate knowledge of the law, as seen in court. His temperament was also evident in his 2021 JSC interviews, where he interrupted Commissioners Madonsela SC and Cane SC and was too quick to respond without reflection – something he acknowledged in the review proceedings.
Third, in his application he bypassed the MSA and obtained a letter of good standing from the provincial Legal Practice Council instead, giving the impression of good standing when he was not in good standing with the MSA.
In its judgment of 7 July 2026 in Mpumalanga Society of Advocates v JSC and Others, the SCA found that the JSC had failed to consider material information relevant to Roelofse’s suitability, including concerns about his judicial temperament and financial disclosures. It held that these shortcomings rendered the 2021 recommendation unlawful, invalid and unconstitutional, set the recommendation aside and required the JSC to reconsider his candidacy.
A further matter the SCA judgment did not address is a civil judgment against him by his son’s school for outstanding fees for 2018, 2019 and 2020, which he did not disclose to the JSC at his earlier interview.
At the October 2026 interview, most questioning focused on his temperament, allegations of bias, and his financial disclosures. The outcome concludes the JSC’s court-ordered reconsideration of his candidacy. The case underscores the importance of constitutional compliance, transparency, and accountability in judicial appointments, and the courts’ role in reviewing JSC decisions.
October 2021 JSC Interview
Interview of Adv Johannes Hendrickus Roelofse by the JSC, October 2021, for a position on the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court.
Adv Roelofse’s application was successful. He was nominated for appointment to the Mpumalanga High Court.
April 2021 JSC Interview
Interview of Adv J H Roelofse by the JSC, October 2021, for a position on the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court
Adv Roelofse’s was not recommended for appointment.