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Advocate Zuko Luvo Mapoma

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Adv Z L Mapoma_7112

Capacity: Advocate
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: African
Date of Birth: April 1965
Qualifications: BProc (1990) (University of Transkei), LLB (1992) (UWC), Advanced Diploma in Labour Law (1997) (Rand Afrikaans University), LLM (2005) (UNISA), MBA Executive Programme (2007) (UCT)

Key Judgments and Appearances:

Candidate Biography | Updated March 2026:

Advocate Zuko Luvo Mapoma is an advocate and member of the Cape Bar.

His early career was marked by student activism in organisations such as AZASO and SANSCO, laying the foundation for the rest of his career.

During one of the most pivotal processes aimed at healing the nation from the wounds of the past, Adv Mapoma played a vital role in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. First, as a legal officer and member of the legal team that defended the TRC when it was subjected to intense legal challenges. And second, when he was appointed as an Evidence Leader in the Amnesty Committee, where he largely worked on amnesty applications relating to former liberation movements.

Mapoma has rightly identified his experience at the TRC as his most significant contribution to the law and the pursuit of justice in South Africa.

Academically, Mapoma holds multiple post-graduate degrees, including an LLM in Corporate Law and an MBA from the University of Cape Town. Mapoma began his legal career as a candidate attorney at Sangoni Incorporated and was admitted as an attorney in 1995. He gained early experience in criminal and civil litigation before being recruited to join the TRC in 1996.

Transitioning into corporate leadership, Mapoma spent thirteen years as an Executive Manager at the Coega Development Corporation, overseeing critical divisions such as Legal and Risk, Procurement, and HR Management. He returned to the legal profession as an advocate, completing his pupillage in 2015 and joining the Cape Bar in 2017.

In his almost 10 years at the Bar, Adv Mapoma’s practice has focused primarily on administrative and civil law litigation, including evictions, divorce, administration of estates, and interdicts. To a lesser extent, Adv Mapoma has also litigated issues of criminal law, constitutional law, and labour law. In Nzwana v Dukes Motors t/a Dampier Nissan, Adv Mapoma argued for the applicant in a case related to judicial review of a vehicle refund under the Consumer Protection Act. The case was dismissed, but the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa ordered each party to pay their own costs, noting that the matter raised significant constitutional issues regarding access to justice and was a novel point of law in that division.

In Peter v Nkonde and Others, Mapoma successfully argued against an eviction application before the Western Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa. This case involved an eviction from a state-subsidised property, which the appellant claimed ownership rights of for more than ten years after vacating the property. The Court determined that the appellant lost ownership rights per the eight-year statutory restriction period under the Housing Act, and therefore, the ownership of the property reverted to the provincial government.

Since March 2024, Mapoma has served as an Acting Judge in the Western Cape Division, presiding over both civil and criminal matters. In Hart v Hart and Others, he adjudicated a complex family dispute regarding the interpretation of a will and the rights of a usufructuary to sell property for financial security. In Pro-Khaya Construction CC v City of Cape Town and Another, he addressed the enforcement of adjudicator determinations in construction disputes and the limitations of judicial review over such expert decisions. His time in the court also includes when he sat pro bono in the Labour Court.

Adv Mapoma has demonstrated leadership within the legal fraternity and higher education, serving as the Provincial Chairperson of the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) (2022–present) and Deputy Chairperson of Advocates for Transformation (AFT) in the Western Cape (2023–2025). He has further contributed to institutional governance as the Chairperson of the University Council for the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) (2018–2023).

Adv Mapoma is not only dedicated to the law but has also previously founded and sponsored rural development initiatives related to crop production, agricultural mechanisation, and sheep farming to alleviate poverty in rural neighbourhoods.

April 2026 JSC Interview

After deliberations, the Judicial Service Commission decided not to recommend Adv Zuko Luvo Mapoma for appointment to the Western Cape High Court.