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‘Courts must embrace 4IR’, says Judge President Musi

29 May 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Rulanzen Martin

Judge Musi — Judge President Cagney Musi from the Free State Division of the High Court.

If you live in a rural town the chances of getting equal access to the court system as your urban counterparts is very slim and therefore the trust in the judiciary has taken a nosedive. This is the “urban bias” of the judiciary, according to Judge President Cagney Musi of the Free State Division of the High Court.

Afrobarometer conducted a countrywide survey on, Trust in Judiciary and access to justice in South Africa. Judge Musi, Matthias Krönke from the Department of Political Studies at the University of Cape Town and Chris Oxtoby from Democratic Governance and Rights Unit at UCT, engaged in a panel discussion on the findings of the report.

The data of the survey was released at an event which was hosted by the Department of Political Transformation and Governance at the University of the Free State (UFS) on Tuesday 16 May 2019.

“The fact that we in South Africa and can say ‘I will take you to court’ is evidence of the trust there is in the judiciary,” said Judge President Musi. However, this trust in the courts ultimately lies in the operations of the court system. Cases that get postponed just becomes part of the backlog. The trust can be maintained through constant communication from the courts. Judge Musi asked whether social media could be used to maintain the trust in the judiciary by sharing court rulings on social media.

“It is also time the courts moved along with the changing times.” Judge Musi was referencing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and how courts can move away from conventional paper-based systems to a process whereby a claimant can submit summonses online.

The data findings of the Afrobarometer survey focused on three broad themes namely; trust in the judiciary and access to justice and judicial autonomy. It aims to contextualise South Africa on the continent and see to what extent people trust the judiciary in South Africa and how that compares to other parts of Africa. South Africa’s performance is very average compared to other countries.

News Archive

Lots of inspiration at Autumn Graduation Ceremony

2013-04-18

Graduates celebrate the results of years of study at the graduation ceremony on the Bloemfontein Campus.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
17 April 2013

Live streaming of ceremonies available from 16 April - 19 April 2013: http://www.ufs.ac.za/ufslivestreaming/

Joshua Johnson YouTube video

The university’s Autumn Graduation Ceremony got off to a vibrant start with energetic performances and inspiring messages for graduates.

Joshua Johnson, an American student who uses his talent for tap-dancing to fund his tertiary education, mesmerised the audience on the first of the four-day graduation ceremony with his story of hope and perseverance. The student from Penn State University travels five hours by bus to New York every weekend where he tap-dances on the subway trains to earn money for his tuition fees.

Delivering a keynote address, Joshua told graduates that, in order to achieve their goals, they have to understand and work diligently with the 24 hours they get to live daily. “Start with a bang and end with a bang,” he said, encouraging the audience in the nearly-packed Callie Human Centre to join him in a rhythmic tap-dancing beat.

“Don’t follow in the footsteps of someone else. Take the beat of life, but add your rhythm to it," his wise words resonating with the exhilarated graduates.

Joshua will be the guest speaker at the ceremonies on 16, 17 and 19 April 2013 and will deliver a dance item during each occasion.

Dr Khotso Mokhele, Chancellor of the University, echoed Joshua‘s message, telling graduates not to be discouraged by life’s difficulties.

“Take what you have learned over the last three or four years and use that knowledge to reach your goal,” he advised.

Prof Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor, encouraged them to continue to study. “To break the cycle of poverty, get an education, get a degree.” He told them that as graduates they are ten times more likely to get a job, with the odds rising as they continue their postgraduate studies.

Well-known radio host and Idols South Africa judge, Gareth Cliff, will be the guest speaker at two ceremonies on 18 April 2013. He will be joined by Vicus Visser, the South African YouTube singing sensation. Dubbed Bloemfontein’s Justin Bieber, Vicus and his brother Vincent will perform during these two ceremonies.

The programme for the respective ceremonies is:

Wednesday 17 April

09:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculty of Education.
14:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculties of Health Sciences, Law and Theology.

Thursday 18 April

09:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences: only Agricultural Sciences and Architecture.
14:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences: only Natural Sciences.

Friday 19 April

09:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences: all diplomas and degrees in the Faculty, except BCom and BComHons.
14:30 Diplomas and certificates up to and including honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences: only BCom and BComHons.

The Qwaqwa Campus’ graduation ceremony will take place on 8 June 2013. Diplomas/certificates up to and including doctorates will be awarded at this ceremony.

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