Who is Sesi Baloyi SC?

Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC is Senior Counsel and one of the two commissioners on the Madlanga Commission, sitting alongside Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and fellow commissioner Sandile Khumalo SC. She helps weigh the evidence and shape the Commission's findings and recommendations.

What is Sesi Baloyi known for?

Baloyi is a respected Senior Counsel at the Johannesburg Bar with experience that includes the Judicial Service Commission, which interviews and recommends candidates for judicial appointment. She has been profiled as one of the senior women shaping the work of the Madlanga Commission.

What does a commissioner do at the Madlanga Commission?

A commissioner sits with the chairperson to hear the evidence, question witnesses, rule on procedure, and contribute to the Commission's findings and recommendations to the President. Commissioners do not lead the evidence - that is the role of the evidence-leading team - but they decide what the evidence means.

Commissioner · Madlanga Commission

Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC

Commissioner assisting the Chairperson · Johannesburg

Commissioner

Sesi Baloyi SC is a Senior Counsel at the Johannesburg Bar and a Commissioner of the Madlanga Commission, appointed in 2025 to sit alongside the Chairperson on the panel that hears evidence. She was admitted as an attorney in 1997 and called to the Johannesburg Bar as an advocate in 2005, early in her career serving as a researcher to Justice Albie Sachs at the Constitutional Court.

A member of the Vmxenge Group of Advocates, she practises across administrative, constitutional, commercial, competition, construction, employment and local-government law. In 2022 President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her to the Judicial Service Commission, where she was subsequently elected spokesperson - a role that has made her one of the more public faces of judicial accountability in South Africa.

The full panel The hearing record

Sesi BaloyiSesi Baloyi SCCommissionerSenior CounselJudicial Service CommissionMadlanga Commission

This profile summarises publicly reported biographical and role information about a member of the Madlanga Commission. It is not a finding of the Commission, nor an allegation against any person. Soft or contested claims are attributed; unverified details are omitted.

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Background

Education & admission

Admitted as an attorney (1997)
Called to the Johannesburg Bar as an advocate (2005)
Took silk as Senior Counsel (SC)

On the record

Notable matters & judgments

Judicial Service Commission (2022)

Appointed by President Ramaphosa to the Judicial Service Commission and later elected its spokesperson.

Researcher to Justice Albie Sachs

Served early in her career as a researcher to Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs.

Practice areas

Administrative, constitutional, commercial, competition, construction and engineering, employment and labour, and local-government law.

Sesi Baloyi: frequently asked questions

Who is Sesi Baloyi SC?: Advocate Sesi Baloyi SC is Senior Counsel and one of the two commissioners on the Madlanga Commission, sitting alongside Chairperson Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and fellow commissioner Sandile Khumalo SC. She helps weigh the evidence and shape the Commission's findings and recommendations.
What is Sesi Baloyi known for?: Baloyi is a respected Senior Counsel at the Johannesburg Bar with experience that includes the Judicial Service Commission, which interviews and recommends candidates for judicial appointment. She has been profiled as one of the senior women shaping the work of the Madlanga Commission.
What does a commissioner do at the Madlanga Commission?: A commissioner sits with the chairperson to hear the evidence, question witnesses, rule on procedure, and contribute to the Commission's findings and recommendations to the President. Commissioners do not lead the evidence - that is the role of the evidence-leading team - but they decide what the evidence means.

Sources