Justice Fikile Eunice Mokgohloa, a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeal who died on 20 August 2026 after a long illness, was honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 2 at Hillsong Church in Wonderboom, Pretoria, on 29 August 2026. President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the official funeral, and Minister of Justice Mmamoloko Kubayi delivered the eulogy at the 07:30 service.
Mokgohloa was 65 years old and was still serving on the Supreme Court of Appeal at the time of her death. Born on 1 June 1961 in Pretoria, she obtained a B Juris in 1987 and an LLB in 1990 from the University of North West, according to her judicial profile published by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Her career on the bench spanned multiple divisions before she reached the apex of appellate practice. She acted as a judge in the Northern Cape Division from June 2006, was permanently appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Division in November 2008, and became Deputy Judge President of the Limpopo Division in July 2016. She was appointed Judge of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal on 1 June 2019.
Delivering the eulogy in Pretoria, Minister Kubayi described Mokgohloa as a jurist whose work was rooted in the transformative vision of the Constitution. “Justice Mokgohloa understood that the drafters of the constitution framed the constitution to be transformative with the aim of creating a new society that is socially just,” Kubayi said, according to SA News.
Kubayi also said Mokgohloa’s judgments reflected a deep understanding of poverty and inequality, particularly in cases involving socio-economic rights. “Justice Mokgohloa’s judgments affirmed that building a culture in which socio-economic rights, including the right to housing and the right to equality, are respected requires unwavering fidelity to the constitution,” Kubayi said.
President Ramaphosa, in a statement reported by SA News, said Mokgohloa had left the judiciary at the height of her commitment to the rule of law. “Judge Mokgohloa has left us at the pinnacle of her commitment to the rule of law and the administration of our courts,” Ramaphosa said.
The Judiciary issued its own statement mourning her passing on 20 August 2026, the same day she died. The consistent tributes from the Presidency, the Justice Ministry, and the Judiciary reflect the standing Mokgohloa held across the legal fraternity, particularly for her emphasis on access to justice for vulnerable communities.
Her death leaves a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Appeal that will require a Judicial Service Commission nomination process to fill. No timeline for that process has been announced. The exact nature of the illness that led to her death has not been disclosed. Cape Flats News will monitor any further announcements from the Presidency or the Judiciary regarding her legacy projects and the replacement process.