Mbuyiseli Madlanga

[2] His father, a teacher, encouraged him to apply for a bursary to read law at the University of Transkei, where he completed a BJuris in 1981 in an atmosphere of growing social unrest.

[2] During his final year he began working in a magistrate's office, though he was close friends with African National Congress activists under investigation by his colleagues.

[2] He was on the bench in Mohamed v President of the Republic of South Africa, which held that the South African government may not extradite a suspect who may face the death penalty unless it receives an assurance it will not be imposed; Prince v President, Cape Law Society, which upheld a law criminalising the use of marijuana, even for religious reasons;[4] Carmichele v Minister of Safety and Security; Minister of Public Works v Kyalami Ridge Environmental Association; and S v Mamabolo.

Madlanga authored S v Steyn, which declared unconstitutional provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 that removed an accused person's automatic right of appeal against a magistrate's court conviction.

[11] In March 2014, he wrote a 94-paragraph judgment dismissing Uruguayan businessman Gaston Savoi's challenge to his prosecution on charges of corruptly procuring a contract from the KwaZulu-Natal government.

[12][13] A year later, Madlanga delivered the controversial main judgment in Paulsen v Slip Knot, which removes an exception to the in duplum rule.

[14] This judgment was described as "consumer friendly",[15] but marked a "sea change" for South African banking practice,[16] and was strongly criticised extra-curially by Malcolm Wallis.