Mr Matodzi Brian Nemavhidi

Capacity: Regional Court Magistrate
First appointed as a Magistrate: 1990 (Thohoyandou Court
Further appointments: Regional Magistrate (2001)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Date of Birth: October 1960
Qualifications: Diploma Iuris (1984) B.Juris (1996) LLB (1998) (University of Limpopo)

Key judgments:

Candidate Biography | Updated August 2025:

Mr Matodzi Nemavhidi is a regional magistrate currently presiding in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court situated at Palm Ridge.

His career in the legal fraternity began in 1985, when he worked as a prosecutor for the NPA. Subsequent to this, he was appointed as a district magistrate in 1990, and presided over matters in Thohoyandou Court, as well as in Dzanani and Mutale Court until he was appointed as a senior district magistrate in Germiston in 1998. During his time as a senior district magistrate he acted as a regional magistrate in Boksburg until 2001, when he was finally appointed as a regional magistrate in Soweto. In 2012 he began to preside in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Johannesburg, where he currently sits.

In addition to his normal duties, Magistrate Nemavhidi is currently the coordinator in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, in which capacity he is tasked with case allocation, and liaising with the regional court president. He has also acted as a coordinator in the Soweto regional courts.

Nemavhidi has served as an acting judge in the Johannesburg and Pretoria high courts, Palm Ridge, and the Bloemfontein high court, for a total of 10 terms, the latest of which was for the first term in 2025 in Bloemfontein.

During his most recent acting stint, Nemavhidi presided over the matter of S v Abdukutif; S v Tshabalala and S v Twala, wherein he was tasked with conducting a special review of part-heard criminal proceedings in the Harrismith Magistrate’s Court due to the presiding magistrate filing an application for discharge from service on the ground of medical incapacity. Nemavhidi was faced with the question of whether, due to the proceedings having not reached the conviction stage and thus not being regulated by a provision in the Criminal Procedure Act, the proceedings could be dealt with by being allocated to another magistrate. In reviewing the relevant law, Nemavhidi noted that section 275 of the Criminal Procedure Act expressly deals with matters post-conviction, hence in the absence of legislation dealing with the pre-conviction process these proceedings do not have to be set aside by the High Court, rather they are automatically held to be a nullity and are set aside ex lege. As a result, it was held that the prosecuting authority retains the authority to decide whether to commence proceedings against the accused anew.

In the recent matter of Smith v Road Accident Fund, Nemavhidi produced another well written and concise judgment, wherein he was tasked with determining the loss of earnings/earning capacity of the plaintiff, Ms Smith, after she sustained an injury in a motor vehicle collision in 2019. Noting that the plaintiff retained a residual working capacity, and that the plaintiff’s work quality did not decrease following the injury after considering various expert opinions, Nemavhidi emphasised that there was uncertainty about whether the plaintiff’s employer would continue to provide her with work when she reaches the age of 65 in 2026. He further noted that the law on determining loss of earning capacity requires a judicial officer to determine, based on the evidence provided, not what the claimant could have earned but rather what they probably would have earned. Taking that into account, Nemavhidi held that the evidence showed that the plaintiff would likely still be provided with work once she reaches retirement age, and her job security was not affected by the injury; hence, the Road Accident Fund was held to be liable for payment of R450 000.00 to the plaintiff for general damages, but the plaintiff’s claim for future loss of earnings was dismissed.

He has also undertaken various leadership roles, including being the president of SANCA Horizon from 2000 to 2018 and the chairperson of the Judicial Officers Association of South Africa: Gauteng from 2001 to 2005. Taking into account the responsibilities that Nemavhidi has taken on, the quality of his written judgments whilst serving as an acting judge, and the integrity he brings to the bench, it will be interesting to see if he is permanently appointed to the Free State High Court.

October 2025 Interview

The Judicial Service Commission interviewed candidates for two vacancies in the Free State Division of the High Court. Following deliberations, the Commission had resolved not to recommend Mr Matodzi Brian Nemavhidi for the position.

Mr Matodzi Brian Nemavhidi‘s interview was unsuccessful.

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Mr Matodzi Brian Nemavhidi