Although much of her interview was consumed by discussion of a lenient sentence she had handed a convicted rapist in the magistrate's court, the Judicial Service Commission recommended her for appointment, alongside Francis Kganyago,[3] and she took office as a judge on 30 January 2017.
[4] In 2019, Semenya heard a traditional leadership dispute between the Thobejane family and the Limpopo Premier, which she dismissed after reversing herself on a point of non-joinder which she had formerly denied.
The following year, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a decision against her judgement in Thobejane and Others v Premier of the Limpopo Province and Another, and the appellate judgment was highly critical of Semenya's handling of the matter.
[1] In February 2021, the Judicial Service Commission announced that Semenya was one of three candidates who had been shortlisted for possible appointment to succeed Mokgohloa as Deputy Judge President of the Limpopo Division.
[5] Following interviews in April, the Judicial Service Commission recommended Semenya for the post,[6] and President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed her appointment with effect from 1 July 2021.