Ismail Mahomed was born in Pretoria in July 1931. He completed his schooling there and qualified as a lawyer, but was, however, excluded from the Pretoria Bar because only whites were allowed.

Mahomed did a great deal of work in far-flung areas where he represented rural communities against apartheid laws. He was not, as an Indian, allowed to stay in hotels or in certain provinces like the Orange Free State, and frequently had to travel great distances to find accommodation.

Law reports show that from 1975 to 1991 Ismail Mahomed did more than anyone else to shape administrative law in South Africa. In October 1996 he was interviewed by the Judicial Service Commission for the position of the first Chief Justice of the new democratic South Africa and was awarded the post. He also fulfilled the position of deputy president of the Constitutional Court.

In August 1999 he wrote judgement on Patricia de Lille’s case, where ANC had charged her with misbehaving in Parliament.

He overruled her suspension and stressed the need for independence of the court from government. He stated that there was no action, not even by members of Parliament, which a court could not consider to judge as to its lawfulness or constitutionality.

He was also Judge of the Appeal Court and jointly responsible for a new judicial code of conduct. He was also instrumental in the framing of proposals for a disciplinary mechanism for judges and pursued a vigorous transformation policy for the Bench. Ismail Mahomed was a hard worker continuing to function as Chief Justice for Namibia after taking over as Chief Justice for South Africa.

Ismail Mahomed died of pancreatic cancer at 68.

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