[1] She matriculated at the Mount Arthur Girls High School in nearby Lady Frere and went on to the University of Transkei, where she completed a BProc in 1995.
[1] After her graduation, she moved from the Cape Province to Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, where she served brief stints as a part-time high school teacher and as a casual worker at Truworths.
[1] Between 1997 and 1999, Poyo-Dlwati completed her articles of clerkship in Pietermaritzburg, first at Jenny Budree & Associates and then at Hoskins & Ngcobo Attorneys.
[1] In May 2014, President Jacob Zuma announced that Poyo-Dlwati would join the bench as a permanent member of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court.
The other candidates were acting Judge President Madondo and judge Esther Steyn, both of whom were senior to Poyo-Dlwati in the KwaZulu-Natal division;[8] indeed, Madondo repeatedly urged the Judicial Service Commission not to "kick out an experienced driver and put in a learner" by elevating Steyn or Poyo-Dlwati over him.
[10] She also presented the panel with a series of objectives for the KwaZulu-Natal Division, including reopening circuit courts to improve access to justice, promoting mediation over litigation, and introducing judicial mentorship programmes.
[1] She is a member of the Maritzburg Christian Church in Pietermaritzburg and she has been a trustee of the Victoria and Griffiths Mxenge Memorial Trust since 2009.