NO-NONSENSE SENIOR MAGISTRATE DIES

NHLANGANO – Although she has been out of work due to illness, work colleagues were somehow relieved after getting wind that Nhlangano Senior Magistrate Philisiwe Dlamini was recuperating.

Little did they know that death was about to come knocking. Last Friday, most staffers at the Nhlangano Magistrates Court were unwinding after a long day’s work when they received bad news. Word started spreading like wild fire indicating that the judicial officer, who had been with the Nhlangano Magistrates Court since 2016, had passed on. The senior magistrate died at home on Friday morning, according to a close family member. She succumbed to what was described as an illness that had seen her missing work in the past few months.

“She was on medication and seemed to be responding well, until she succumbed to her illness on Friday,” explained the close relative, in a brief interview yesterday morning. Although she acknowledged receiving a report on the judicial officer’s death, High Court Registrar Nosipho Mazibuko declined to comment any further, stating that they were yet to get an official word from the family. “Yes, we have heard about the sad news but I can only be in a position to speak to you after we have met with her family,” she said. Staffers at the Nhlangano Magistrates Court, who are still trying to grapple with the news of the senior magistrate’s demise, revealed that they were inundated with people sending condolences and requests for more information. Senior Magistrate Dlamini, who was also a former police officer, served at the Simunye Magistrates Court before being transferred to Nhlangano in 2016.

While in Nhlangano, she became widely-known for her no-nonsense approach and stiff sentences when dealing with criminal matters. A regular at the Nhlangano Magistrates Court, who likes following court proceedings, called this publication to pay his respects to the late judicial officer. “She spoke her mind and was strongly against gender-based violence,” he said. Although some residents were quick to commend the judicial officer for her stance, which they felt was needed to tackle the problem of violent crime in the region, some of her decisions attracted controversy though. This partly led to lawyers flocking the High Court to have some of her decisions reviewed by judges.

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