While the husband of Free State acting judge Mamello Thamae confessed to her murder, her colleagues at the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) expressed sadness following her brutal killing.
The regional court magistrate and acting judge of the Free State High Court at the time of her passing, was found dead in Lesotho at the weekend. The 41-year-old’s body was found in the boot of a car belonging to her husband – who reportedly confessed to killing her, citing a broken down marriage as the reason behind the incident.
He was immediately arrested and appeared before the Mokhotlong magistrate’s court in Lesotho on Tuesday, where he was remanded in custody.
In a statement on Wednesday, the BLA said it is rather saddening to learn that her passing was allegedly caused by the hand of the person who was supposed to protect her.
“It is actions like these that continue to undermine the interventions of our law to stop Gender Based Violence.
“We do, however, wish to applaud the South African Police working together with the
Lesotho Police in acting swiftly on the matter to ensure that the culprit is arrested. We
are confident that once all the legal processes have been concluded to bring the culprit
to South Africa, our courts will ensure that the wheels of justice turn faster to enable
the bereft family to have peace and justice,” said the association.
It added that it would like to take this opportunity to convey a message of heartfelt condolences to Thamae’s family, her child, and friends.
“We also wish to express our message of condolences to the members of the BLA, to whom she belonged, the judiciary and all fraternal structures that she was part of.
“It is sad that whilst the BLA-Judicial Service committee was finalising its pool of those who are ready when required to act as judges, a day before her passing we were already concerned about the shortage of women in the pool.
“It is even more saddening that she was part of the few women we had on that list. This barbaric act of her killing has robbed us of all the efforts of transformation.”
Thamae is said to have devoted her life to the transformation of the legal fraternity as well as the development of the legal system. She conducted training on behalf of the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEi) as well as the BLA-FS Legal Education and Research.
“Her role in responding to the call by the BLA-FS Judicial Services Committee to avail
herself for acting positions did not only come valuable because she was young and a
woman, but also reasserted the role women, throughout history, have been playing in
the development of our legal system,” added the association.
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