In a rare show of dissent from the bench, over 70 magistrates picketed outside the Durban Magistrates Court on Monday, 13 October, demanding urgent intervention from the Magistrates Commission over what they described as years of neglect, unfair treatment, and poor working conditions.
The peaceful, robed protest — held between 1pm and 2pm — marked one of the few times in South African history that members of the judiciary have publicly demonstrated to highlight their grievances.
Speaking to The Springfield Weekly Gazette during the picket, Magistrate Scelo Zuma, representing the Judicial Officers Association of South Africa (JOASA), said the decision to protest was not taken lightly, but frustration had reached a breaking point.
“We’ve tried to raise these issues through formal channels, but nothing has changed,” Zuma said. “We are here today because we can no longer remain silent. As magistrates, we serve this country with integrity, yet we continue to face systemic discrimination and a lack of independence within the judicial structure.”
Zuma stressed that low salaries were not their only concern — many magistrates were also working under poor and undignified conditions.
“On the very day of this protest, I didn’t even have an office to work from,” he said. “I had no access to private ablution facilities and had to share a public toilet with th accused who had appeared before me. It’s highly degrading for someone in my position and reflects the lack of respect shown to magistrates.”
He added that magistrates were particularly frustrated by delays in implementing the long-awaited remuneration review, as well as the lack of a dedicated pension fund and medical aid scheme.
“Our demands are not unreasonable,” he said. “We want financial independence, fair treatment, and for magistrates to be recognised as an integral part of the judicial system. The failure to provide us with our own pension fund or medical aid in line with PARMED is unjust.”
Also speaking at the picket, Magistrate Dr Betty Rawheath (70), who has served the Department of Justice for over 40 years — including 32 years as a magistrate and eight years in prosecution — said their concerns extend beyond remuneration, pointing to long-standing discrimination within the judicial hierarchy.
“We’ve been discriminated against by the highest courts in the country and by the executive, which doesn’t seem to care about the lower courts,” Dr Rawheath said. “We are judges just like those in the higher courts, yet we are treated differently. Our salaries do not allow us to live a lifestyle deserving of a magistrate — some of us can’t even afford to buy a vehicle.”
Dr Rawheath, who earned her doctorate from the University of Cape Town in 2022, said she had dedicated her research to exploring these systemic inequalities in the judiciary, but her findings were largely ignored.
“I feel sad that I have to leave the system without seeing any change,” she said. “I wrote my doctorate on these very issues, hoping that someone would read it and understand our problems, but they ignored us.”
The magistrates cited Section 17 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and petition, as the basis for their action.
Zuma emphasised that the demonstration was peaceful and dignified.
“We took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and that’s exactly what we are doing,” he said. “We are not rebelling — we are standing up for fairness and equality in the judiciary.”
Zuma added that Monday’s protest was only the beginning, and that more magistrates across the country would soon be joining Durban in similar pickets to intensify pressure on the Magistrates Commission. Empangeni Magistrates also held a picket outside their court.
“All we are asking for is dialogue and action,” Zuma said. “We love our profession, and we want to see it strengthened — not undermined.”
