Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

South Africa
Minister of Justice and
Correctional Services
List
  • 10 other official names:
  • Minister van Justisie en Staatkundige Ontwikkeling (Afrikaans)
  • uNgqongqotjhe wezoBulungiswa nokuThuthukiswa komThethosisekelo (Southern Ndebele)
  • UMphathiswa lezoBulungisa noMgaqosiseko (Xhosa)
  • Indvuna Wezobulungiswa Nokuthuthukiswa Komthethosisekelo (Zulu)
  • Indvuna Letebulungiswa Netekutfutfukiswa Kwemtsetfosisekelo (Swazi)
  • Tona ya Toka le Tlhabollo ya Molaotheo (Northern Sotho)
  • Letona la Toka le Ntshetsopele ya Molao wa Motheo (Sotho)
  • Tona la Bosiamisi le Tlhabololo ya Molaotheo (Tswana)
  • Holobye ya Vululami na Nhluvukiso wa Vumbiwa (Tsonga)
  • Minisiṱa wa Vhulamukanyi na Mveledziso ya Mulayotewa (Venda)
Flag of South Africa.svg
Ronald Lamola (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Ronald Lamola
since 30 May 2019
StyleThe Honourable
AppointerCyril Ramaphosa
Inaugural holderJ. B. M. Hertzog
Formation31 May 1910
DeputyJohn Jeffery (since 2013)
Patekile Holomisa (since 2019)
SalaryR2 401 633

The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services is the justice minister in the government of South Africa. He is the political head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and the Office of the Chief Justice. DoJCD is responsible for administrative support to the courts, oversight of the National Prosecuting Authority, the provision of legal services to departments of state, and law reform; and DSC is responsible for prisons and community corrections programmes.

As of August 2020, the incumbent is Ronald Lamola, who was appointed to the position by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June 2019. His deputies are John Jeffery, who is responsible for the Justice portfolio, and Inkosi Patekile Holomisa, who is responsible for Correctional Services.

History of the portfolio

Correctional services was a part of the Justice portfolio until 1990, when extensive prison reforms were announced and a separate department and ministerial portfolio were established. The Justice portfolio became Justice and Constitutional Development in 1999, at the beginning of the second Mbeki cabinet, when constitutional matters were detached from the Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development – which had itself previously been the Ministry of Constitutional Development, until a reorganisation under the Mandela cabinet of 1994 to 1999. In July 2014, at the beginning of the second Zuma cabinet, the portfolios were merged again, creating the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services. However, the Department of Correctional Services remains distinct from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development; although they share a political head or executive authority, they are operationally and legislatively distinct. They report to the same parliamentary body, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, but separately.

Three prime ministers have been Minister of Justice, including two – Jan Smuts and B. J. Vorster – who held the position directly before being elected prime minister. In 2004, Brigitte Mabandla became the first woman to be appointed to the portfolio.

List of Ministers

Ministry of Justice (1910–1999)

Minister Party Incumbency Under Deputy
J. B. M. Hertzog SAP 1910–1912 Louis Botha
Jacobus Wilhelmus Sauer SAP 1912–1913 Louis Botha
Nicolaas Jacobus de Wet SAP 1913–1924 Louis Botha

Jan Smuts

Tielman Roos NP 1924–1929 J. B. M. Hertzog
Oswald Pirow NP 1929–1933 J. B. M. Hertzog
Jan Smuts SAP/UP 1933–1939 J. B. M. Hertzog
Colin Fraser Steyn UP 1939–1945 Jan Smuts
Harry Lawrence UP 1945–1948 Jan Smuts
Charles Robberts Swart NP 1948–1959 Daniel François Malan

J. G. Strijdom

Hendrik Verwoerd

Frans Erasmus NP 1959–1961 Hendrik Verwoerd
B. J. Vorster NP 1961–1966 Hendrik Verwoerd
Petrus Cornelius Pelser NP 1966–1974 B. J. Vorster
Jimmy Kruger NP 1974–1979 B. J. Vorster

P. W. Botha

Alwyn Schlebusch NP 1979–1980 P. W. Botha
Kobie Coetsee NP 1980–1994 P. W. Botha

F. W. de Klerk

Dullah Omar ANC 10 May 1994 – 14 June 1999 Nelson Mandela (I) Chris Fismer

Sheila Camerer

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development (1999–2014)

Minister Party Incumbency Under Deputy
Penuell Maduna ANC 18 June 1999 – 29 April 2004 Thabo Mbeki (I) Cheryl Gillward
Brigitte Mabandla ANC 29 April 2004 – 24 September 2008 Thabo Mbeki (II) Johnny de Lange
Enver Surty ANC 25 September 2008 – 9 May 2009 Kgalema Motlanthe (I) Johnny de Lange
Jeff Radebe ANC 10 May 2009 – 24 May 2014 Jacob Zuma (I) Andries Nel

John Jeffery

Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services (2014–present)

Minister Party Incumbency Under Deputies
Michael Masutha ANC 25 May 2014 – 29 May 2019 Jacob Zuma (II)

Cyril Ramaphosa (I)

John Jeffery (DoJCD)

Thabang Makwetla (DCS)

Ronald Lamola ANC 30 May 2019 – present Cyril Ramaphosa (II) John Jeffery (DoJCD)

Patekile Holomisa (DCS)

Institutions overseen by the Ministry

The following institutions are housed in the Justice and Correctional Services portfolio, although most have a significant degree of operational and statutory independence:



This page was last updated at 2023-03-05 05:05 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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