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01 July 2019 | Story Eloise Calitz | Photo Charl Devenish
Justice Molemela and Mr Nikile Ntsababa
Dr Mahube Molemela receives her honorary doctorate certificate from the Registrar, Mr Nikile Ntsababa.
Madam Justice Mahube Betty Molemela obtained her LLB and LLM degrees from the UFS, and a number of postgraduate diplomas from various institutions of higher learning. She also lectured on a part-time basis in the UFS Faculty of Law between 2001 and 2003, and actively supports the annual Kovsie Moot Court Competition.

Highlights of her achievements

Justice Molemela made history when she was appointed as the first female Judge President of the Free State Division of the High Court of South Africa. She is only the second female to be appointed in this capacity in South Africa. During her tenure as Judge President, the highest number of female candidates were invited to act as judges in the Free State Division of the High Court. In 2015, she was appointed for two terms as a judge of the highest court in the country, the Constitutional Court. In 2018, Justice Molemela was appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. 

Community Involvement

Justice Molemela plays an active role in the community – from actively empowering farm workers and upcoming farmers through initiatives of the Free State Rural Development Association, to presentations and training on business enterprises. She also served as  chairperson of the Valuations Court and as provincial board member of Absa Bank. 

Her involvement in the legal profession and legal community includes serving as a councillor for the Free State Law Society and as board member of the Free State School for Legal Practice in the Law Society of South Africa. Justice Molemela also teaches Trial Advocacy under the auspices of the Legal Education Centre Trust. 

Awards and recognitions

In 2009, she received a recognition award from her alma mater, the Albert Moroka High School in Thaba Nchu. In 2015, she received a recognition award from the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges. In 2016, she received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and was appointed Chancellor of the Central University of Technology in the same year. In 2017, she received a Service Excellence Award from the Black Lawyers Association and a Transformation Award from the Black Conveyancers Association. In October 2018, CEO Global identified her as its 2018/19 finalist for the Most Influential Woman in Business and Government for the SADC region. 

“There will always be a need for judges because of social attrition,” says Justice Molemela. “I encourage Law students and young lawyers to consider this career path and to be intentional about their career choice. I think if you approach your career with the knowledge that you intend to be a judge, you will be in a better position to structure your career in a way that ensures that you obtain most of the skills that are needed to become a good judge.”



News Archive

Two research chairs awarded to UFS women
2015-09-15


Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

Two professors at the University of the Free State (UFS) have just been chosen as recipients of research chairs by the National Research Foundation’s South African Research Chair Initiative.

The research chairs are a massive financial injection for research in each of the relevant disciplines – that of Profs Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela from the Centre for Trauma, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation Studies at the UFS, and Felicity Burt from the Department of Medical Microbiology in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Profs Gobodo-Madikizela and Burt are two of 42 female researchers in the country receiving research chairs as an initiative to give due recognition to women in research.

Profs Hendrik Swart, from our Departement of Physics and Melany Walker, Director, Centre for Research on Higher Education and Development, each also holds research chairs by the NRF. A third research chair has also been granted to the UFS Department of Plant Sciences for the research in field crops.


Prof Felicity Burt

The work of Prof Burt’s research chair is to investigate medically significant vector-borne and zoonotic viruses currently circulating; to define associations between these viruses and specific disease manifestations that have previously not been described in our region, to increase awareness of these pathogens; to further our understanding of host immune responses, which should facilitate development of novel treatments or vaccines and drug discovery.

Prof Gobodo-Madikizela, who has received international recognition for her work on forgiveness studies, will use this research chair to investigate historical trauma within two African contexts – those of South Africa and Rwanda. She hopes to gain insight into the role that memory plays in the formation of the experience of trauma, and to bring about healing of the trauma.

Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research at the UFS, expressed her pride on the announcement.

“We are extremely proud of the national recognition these two outstanding women researchers received.  The UFS strives for research excellence, and the five current NRF research chairs, as well as two NRF A-graded researchers who are at the forefront of their disciplines globally, indicates our continued commitment to innovating, relevant, and high-impact research.  We are excited about the progress of the past two years to position the UFS as a national leader in research.”

 

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