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Adv Pinda Njokweni

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Adv P Njokweni_7487

Capacity: Advocate
First admitted as an attorney: December 1997
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Black
Date of Birth: September 1972
Qualifications: B Iuris (1994) LLB (1996) (University of Transkei)

Key judgments:

Candidate Bio | Updated March 2026:

Adv Pinda Njokweni is an experienced attorney and an advocate of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates.

Adv Njokweni has kept chambers at the Island Group of Advocates since 2024. He is now seeking a permanent appointment to the Western Cape Division of the High Court (WCC), where he has served as an acting judge for four terms, presiding over more than 60 cases, including civil and criminal trials, opposed motions, and appeals.

After completing his education, Njokweni completed his articles under prominent judicial figures, including the late Judge NJ Yekiso. Admitted as an attorney in 1997, Njokweni spent over 25 years in private practice, leading several firms and specialising in delictual claims, matrimonial disputes, and administrative law.

In a rare mid-career shift, he underwent pupillage at the age of 51 at the Johannesburg Society of Advocates and was admitted as an advocate in March 2024, joining the Island Group of Advocates in Sandton.

With nearly three decades of experience in the legal profession, Njokweni’s work has been defined by complex cases, including high-value commercial disputes and matters involving mineral rights and land restitution. Specifically, Njokweni represented the Baphalane Ba Mantserre Beneficiaries Association regarding disputes with the trustees of the Baphalane Ba Mantserre Community Trust, a beneficiary of a land restitution order from the Land Claims Court.

Additionally, Njokweni has taken on constitutional litigation involving freedom of the press. In Zuma and Another v South African Broadcasting Corporation and Others (2024/077748) [2025], Adv Njokweni represented SABC in a high-profile legal challenge brought by former President Jacob Zuma, successfully defending the broadcaster’s freedom of the press.

As an acting judge in the Western Cape, Njokweni has been confronted with a range of complex and often urgent matters. In B.U. v C.M., Njokweni decided a sensitive matter involving the Children’s Act concerning a father’s refusal to consent to a minor child’s overseas travel with the child’s mother. Emphasising the court’s role as a guardian of minors, Njokweni reaffirmed the Court’s power to dispense with unreasonably withheld guardianship consent.

Furthermore, Njokweni has delivered judgments for the full bench in criminal appeals, including in Cawe v State, where he upheld a life sentence for a domestic violence-related murder, finding no “substantial and compelling circumstances” to deviate from prescribed minimum sentences.

Finally, in NJR Steel Cape Town (2025), Njokweni was requested to furnish written reasons after an application for leave to appeal was filed following his ex-tempore judgment concerning an urgent application to enforce a restraint of trade. Upon the delivery of his written reasons, the respondents withdrew their application for leave to appeal.

Njokweni identifies his most significant contributions to the law as his service as an Acting Judge and highlights mentoring and empowering youth as his passion. Further, he has been described as possessing an “almost Edwardian persona” in his interpersonal interactions, characterised by politeness and respect.

Since 2025, Njokweni has been a member of Advocates for Transformation (AFT). His candidacy is supported by a diverse background in litigation across both the attorney and advocate professions, combined with several terms of acting experience in the Western Cape.

April 2026 JSC Interview

 

After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission has recommended Adv Pinda Njokweni for appointment to the Western Cape High Court.