Five years ago I travelled to Mangaung to interview president of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) justice Mandisa Maya. My colleague Ziniko Mhlaba (the producer of my television show at the time) and I were silent when we drove back to Johannesburg. We could not speak. We were too wowed by the judge’s wit, wisdom, humanity and brilliance. Her deep thinking about the role of the judiciary in a polarised society such as ours, her commitment to preserving the dignity of the judiciary in trying times, stood out.

It was a deeply inspiring interview personally too. She had battered down doors and broken through glass ceilings to get to where she was. And she was not finished. She wanted to do more to transform the judiciary and make it more welcoming of women. Her life story was the stuff motivational speakers dream of...