Madlanga honoured with international moot court competition named after him
Retired Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga was honoured today, Friday at the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape with the official launch of an international moot court competition named after him.
The Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga International Moot Court Competition, hosted by the university’s Faculty of Law, aims to equip aspiring legal practitioners with stronger research, writing, advocacy, and critical thinking skills through simulated court proceedings. It also seeks to foster engagement with contemporary constitutional and legal issues while building ties between universities, the judiciary, and the profession.
Madlanga, who chairs the high-profile commission of inquiry into alleged corruption, political interference, and criminality in South Africa’s law enforcement agencies, described the recognition as touching, heartwarming, and humbling. He stressed, however, that the initiative was not primarily about him. “I do not consider this to be about me. I consider it to be more about Fort Hare’s students who have excelled in competing not only locally but also internationally,” he said. “This speaks volumes when we look at where they come from.”
He praised the university for intensifying jurisprudence training among upcoming lawyers and expressed optimism that students honing forensic skills in such competitions would strengthen South Africa’s legal system. Many judicial officers, he noted, are drawn from the ranks of legal practitioners.
When pressed for comment on the work of the commission he chairs, Madlanga declined. He said he had held only one media briefing before hearings began and deliberately avoids public remarks on the inquiry until he chooses to do so.
The launch reflects Fort Hare’s efforts to develop future legal professionals grounded in constitutional values and ethical leadership. Distinguished guests from the judiciary, academia, and the legal fraternity attended the event.
Madlanga, a former Constitutional Court justice who retired in 2025 after a distinguished career, has longstanding links with Eastern Cape institutions and legal educa