Born in Pretoria, Shongwe was educated at Edendale Technical High School in Pietermaritzburg.
[1] Shongwe practised as an attorney for more than twenty years and during 2000 he acted as a judge for the first time, after which, from January 2001, he was permanently appointed at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
For two years, 2017 and 2018, he acted as the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
[2] Shongwe was appointed the chairperson of the Electoral Court of South Africa, in May 2014.
[3] Shongwe was awarded an honorary LLD (Honoris Causa) from the University of Venda during 2007.