PERSONAL PARTICULARS

SURNAME: Chili

FIRST NAME(S) Nkosinathi Emmanuel

EDUCATION

STANDARD PASSED: Matric 1984

SCHOOL ATTENDED: Mshiyane High School, Inanda

TERTIARY EDUCATION

INSTITUTION: University of Zululand

QUALIFICATION OBTAINED: B Juris and LLB, obtained in 1989 and 1992

FURTHER EDUCATION

QUALIFICATION OBTAINED: Certificate in Major Case Management obtained in London in 2003

WORK EXPERIENCE

Volunteer Teacher at Isaviyo Primary School, Ndwedwe for a period of 6

months in 1985.

Court Interpreter at Durban and Verulam Magistrate’s Court from March

1993 to May 1995.

State Prosecutor in Pietermaritzburg and Umlazi Magistrate’s Court from May 1995 to October 1997.

State Advocate in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,

Durban from November 1997 to November 2000.

Senior State Advocate in the office of the Director of Special Operations

(Scorpions as it then was) in Durban from December 2000 to March 2005.

Magistrate in Durban Magistrate’s Court from March 2005 to May 2014.

Acting Judge in the High Court, KwaZulu-Natal:

2 sessions in 2009; 2 sessions in 2010; 2 sessions in 2012; 4 sessions in

2013 and 4 sessions in 2014.

Judge of the High Court, KwaZulu-Natal from 01 June 2014 to date.

Acting Deputy Judge President from 01 October 2023 to 31 December

2023

Acting Judge, Supreme Court of Appeal: 01 October - 30 November 2024

MEMBER OF LEGAL ORGANISATION

Member of the Society of State Advocates from 1999 to 2004.

Member of a committee called “Agents of Change” established in the

year 2000 with the view of facilitating transformation at the workplace.

Member of JOASA from 2004 to 2014.

Member of Black Lawyers Association from 1999 to 2014.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Chairperson of Chili Tribunal Authority in Ndwendwe.

Chairperson of Zion Apostolic Church in South Africa.

My acting stint as the Deputy Judge President.

For the period 01 October 2023 to 31 December 2023 I served as the

Acting Deputy Judge President of the Division. I have reason to believe

that during my acting stint I acquitted myself very well. I never received

any complaint from my colleagues, members of the legal fraternity or any

member of staff for that matter about the manner in which I conducted

myself. I had a cordial interaction with my colleagues and members of

the legal fraternity. Nomination letters which form part of the present

application attest to that fact.

Allocation of duties

I did everything in my power to ensure equal distribution of matters to

my colleagues and I strongly believe that I did so in a fair even handed

manner. If not, I would have received a complaint from my colleagues

but I never did. Throughout the entire session both in Durban and in

Pietermaritzburg, I allocated duties in accordance with the roster in

which I made changes as they occurred from time to time, with the view

of ensuring equitable distribution of duties. In the event that I am

shortlisted for the post I undertake to present the two sets of rosters to

the panel for consideration.

During my acting stint I accepted an invite by NADEL where I delivered

a paper on diversity at the workplace. I attach hereto a copy of my paper

marked annexure “B”. I also participated at the Seminar for Acting

Judges in Johannesburg where I delivered a paper on Judicial Code of

Conduct and Ethics. See annexure “C” attached hereto.

During my acting stint I also accepted a request by the Judge President

to chair the appeal records subcommittee established with the view to

overcome delays in prosecuting appeals. I am still the chairperson of that

committee. Attached hereto are minutes of the latest meeting held on

22 May 2024.

My experience as a Senior State Advocate

Before I conclude, I wish to point out that as a Senior State Advocate I

held the title of Case Manager, leading a team of Advocates and

Investigators.

To conclude, I wish to point out that I familiarised myself with the vision of the

Judge President of our Division which I support. In the event that I am

shortlisted for the post, I undertake to address all questions pertaining to the

Judge President’s vision if required to do so by the panel.

EDUCATION

Matric: Lebogang High School-Welkom.

B. Proc: University of Zululand (1989).

PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Clerk at Molefi Litheko Attorneys (1990-1992.)

Articled Clerk (Molefi Litheko Attorneys.  (1992-1995.)

1995-2006 Practiced at various law firms.

Acting District Court Magistrate (2007-2008).

Magistrate (Head of Court- Edenburg) 2008-2018.

Acting Regional Court Magistrate (2 May 2016-26 August 2016).

Acting Judge of the High Court (Free State Division).

29 August 2016-23 September 2016.

10 October 2016-11 November 2016.

21 November 2016-15 December 2016.

9 October 2017-15 December 2017.

29 January 2018- 31 March 2018.

Judge of the High Court (Free State Division) 1 July 2018 to date.

Acting Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal, 01 October – 30 November 2024, 01 December 2024 - 31 March 2025, 01 April 2025 - 31 May 2025

OTHER ACTIVIVIES

Past Committee member of NICRO (Botshabelo).

Past School Governing Body member of BOITUMELO Special School (Thaba Nchu).

Past School Governing Body member of Fadimehang Public School (Botshabelo).

Founding and Committee member of Rethusanang Day Care Centre for the severely mental and physically disabled children (2016-2018).

IEC Investigator into allegations of election law contraventions during the 1994 elections.

Facilitated training of Magistrates.

Facilitated training of candidate attorneys for LSSA in court practice.

Treasurer of the Black Lawyers Association -Free State (Two terms.)

Treasurer of Judicial Officers Association- Free State (Two terms).

Personal:

26 February 1966, Tarkastad, Eastern Cape

Education:

Matric: St. Matthews High School 

B. IURIS University of Transkei,1988

LLB University of Transkei, 1992

Certificate in Shipping : Institute of Shipbrokers, Durban , 2005

Certificate in Project Management University of Cape Town, 2019                                        

Professional History:

Public Prosecutor: Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court, Ciskei, March 1988 - 1990

Tutor - Constitutional Law : University of Transkei, 1991

Admitted as an Advocate , 4 June 1992

Part-Time Lecturer ,University of Fort Hare - Civil Procedure ,1993 - 1994 

Appointed as Presiding Officer First Democratic Elections in King William's Town , 1994

State Advocate Bisho,1992 -1995

Seconded to the Goldstone Commission : Enquiry into Taxi Violence in the Eastern Cape,1995

Senior Legal Administrative Officer, Office of the Director General, Bhisho,1995 - July 1996

Enrolled as a pupil at the Durban Bar, August 1996 – December 1996

Commenced practice, 4 December 1996

Joined the Bisho Society of Advocates, January 1997

Member of the Bar Council, Bisho, 1999 - 2000

Joined the Durban Society of Advocates, February 2002

Acted  as a Judge in the Eastern Cape Division (Mthatha, Bisho, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth) -   June 2002

Acted as a Judge in Bisho, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and South Gauteng during the years 2007, 2008, 2010,2014, 2015 ,2016 and 2021

Trainee at Holland & Knight, New York in Maritime Law - August 2004 -  January 2005

President -  South African Women Lawyers Association (Sawla) – KZN Region, 2007 - 2009

Member of the Bid Adjudication Tribunal KZN, 2009 - April 2011

Attained Silk Status, June 2011

Member of the Board for the Coega Development Corporation, 2014

Served on the Board: Ushaka Marine Theme Park, 08 February 2005 - 24 January 2011

Appointed by the Premier, KZN as a Chairperson of the RTI Recruitment Commission, 1 March  2013 – 5 June 2014

Elected to serve on the General Council of the Bar (the GCB) as an Assistant Honorary Secretary, July 2015-2016

Appointed by the President of the Republic of South Africa to serve on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), April 2017- 17 February 2020

Chairperson of the Advocates for Transformation in Kwazulu-Natal, November 2017 - 2019

Appointed as the Evidence Leader to the Commission of Enquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, March 2018 -2021.

As Senior Counsel held dual Chambers at: Salmon Grove Chambers, Durban, 2002- 2021 and also at : Thulamela Chambers, Sandton, 2012 – 2021.  

Appointed as a Judge, 1 January 2022 to date

Member of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ), February 2023 to date

Appointed as a Vice- Chairperson of the National Council for Correctional Services, 06 November 2023

Appointed as a Judge of the Special Tribunal, 1 November 2024

Acting Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal, 1 December 2024 - 31 May 2025

Personal:    

Born 5 December 1971

Husband: Samuel Phetla Two children

Education:       

Matric (1989) Centurion Academy, Johannesburg

B Proc (1995) Wits University, Johannesburg

LLM Human Rights and Constitutional Practice (1997) University of Pretoria

Master of Public Administration, Harvard University, Cambridge MA USA, 2005

Mason Fellow, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge MA USA, 2005

Professional History:

Attorney of the High Court of South Africa: 1997 - 2015

Acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Johannesburg, various terms between 2nd term 2013 and 4th term 2015

Judge of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Division, Johannesburg: 1 January 2016 to date

Member of the Special Tribunal of South Africa 2019 to April 2022

President of the Special Tribunal of South Africa 1 May 2022 to 30 June 2024

Judge member of the Electoral Court of South Africa, 1 January 2022 to date.

Acting Judge of Appeal, Supreme Court of Appeal: 1 December 2024 to 31 March 2025, 01 April 2025 - 31 May 2025

Publications, Awards, Honours and other activities:

Completed the Association of Law Societies’ Practical Legal Course with Outstanding performance, 1996

Harvard-South Africa Scholarship, 2004

Member of the Black Lawyers Association: 2008 to 2015