President Thabo Mbeki has appointed Judge Dikgang Moseneke to the Constitutional Court with immediate effect.

Judge Moseneke is set to replace Judge Johan Kriegler who retired on Friday. Judge Kriegler was appointed to the Constitutional Court in 1994.

President Mbeki said he was confident that Judge Moseneke would carry out his Constitutional Court functions with distinction.

Prior to his new appointment, Judge Moseneke was a judge at the Pretoria High Court.

Three other judges were short listed for the post, Judge Ben du Plessis, Judge Kathy Satchwell and Judge Lewis Skweyiya.

President Mbeki thanked Judge Kriegler for the role he played in the founding of the Constitutional Court.

He chaired the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) during the country’s first democratic election in 1994 and was instrumental in the formation of the code of conduct for politicians during the election period.

Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, deputy Chief Justice Pius Langa and senior advocate George Bizos on Thursday paid tribute to Judge Johan Kriegler on the eve of his retirement.

Chief Justice Chaskalson said Judge Kriegler was ‘not one to hide his views’ and had been a willing and strong fighter for human rights during the apartheid era.

‘He has been a wonderful colleague, bringing to the work of the court his years of experience, his acute mind, his writing skills which he shared with us all and meticulous attention not only to the judgments that he wrote but also the judgments of his colleagues,’ the chief justice said. - BuaNews