[1] In November 2009, President Jacob Zuma announced that, on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission, Kgoele would join the bench permanently as a judge of the North West High Court, with immediate effect.
[5][4] Observers described Kgoele as having "appeared ill-prepared and under-qualified — often ponderous in her responses", and Mogoeng commented that he "thought that in preparation for this interview you would do more [research]".
[1] In October 2019, Kgoele was transferred to the bench of the High Court's newly established Mpumalanga Division, where she served for the next four years.
[2] In February 2021, the Judicial Service Commission announced that Kgoele was one of two candidates who had been shortlisted for possible appointment as Deputy Judge President of the Mpumalanga Division.
[2] However, Kgoele stood in for Mphahlele as acting Deputy Judge President for four months in 2020, first between January and March and then between October and November.
[1] During that time, she wrote for the majority of the court in several important judgements, including Brightwater Props v Eastern Cape Development Corporation, a case in procurement law.
[11] Petse also said that, in Kgoele's 2022 interview, he had advised her that, "you are not ready to ascend to the Bench of the [Supreme Court] and that more acting stints would help you perfect your judgment writing skills" – but that Kgoele had subsequently declined an invitation to spend more time as an acting judge in the Supreme Court.
[12][13] Nonetheless, after the interviews, the Judicial Service Commission recommended Kgoele and Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane for appointment, declining to fill the other two vacancies.
[14] The recommendation was controversial: although Kathree-Setiloane had been viewed as a frontrunner, several commentators said that it was "puzzling" that Kgoele had been selected when other equally or better-qualified candidates, such as David Unterhalter, had not.