Introducing Constitutional Court Judge, Leona Theron

She might have grown up in one of the poorest families in Wentworth, but it never seemed to dim the flame inside of little Leona Theron. One of the people that kept that flame alive was her mom, Ethel, who was always doing something to make a living, whether it be sewing, hairdressing or baking. Like Ethel, she believed in earning her way through life and before she even completed her degree, she was an entrepreneur, a cashier, a librarian and a tutor. Her goal was to become a lawyer, which she did, but if you are taught about work ethic from birth, you might end up becoming one of the most powerful judges in the country.

Leona’s mom, Ethel, was the driving force behind Leona’s incredible work ethic. She was always encouraging Leona to excel in school and believed that being able to play an instrument would help her succeed in life. There wasn’t any money for piano lessons though, so what she did was bake some of her delicious fudge and coconut ice treats and with the help of Leona, sold them to the community. By the time Leona was 14, she had become such a gifted pianist that her Apostolic Church congregation asked her to become their organist. She also saw an opportunity to make some extra money so when her mom became permanently employed, she took over the baking business and used that money to pay for whatever she needed at school.

Leona’s second job was as a cashier at OK Bazaars, a job which she held from the age of 15, right through her studies at the University of Kwazulu Natal. Being Ethel’s daughter, she never said no to a job so in addition to being a cashier, she also worked as a student librarian at the Law Library, a Tutor teaching first years and the Secretary of the Legal Aid Clinic. One would think that having four jobs would cause Leona to suffer academically, but it didn’t really. She was afterall, her mother’s daughter.

By 1990, she had gone on to complete her bachelors, honour and masters degrees, received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship for academic excellence; went on to work as the Special Assistant to the Director of the International Labour Organisation, started her own practice, was appointed by the then President Nelson Mandela the Judge White Commission, became permanent judge to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court and then a permanent judge at the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Honourable Judge Theron went a step further when, in 2017, she became the newest addition to the Constitutional Court of South Africa, a position she holds to this day.

These days, as is the case with the cycle that is life, Leona has taken on the role of parent to her parents. (Just to be clear, her father was always in the picture, but that’s another wonderful story for another day.) They are in their 80’s, struggling with both memory and movement. Leona makes sure they are taken care of and enrolled them into seniors programmes like exercise classes and Bingo. She makes sure that they are able to contact her, even when she is busy making a major judgement in a constitutional case. Now, you might think that given her workload, it would not be possible for her to pay attention to the people that raised her. Except that, it is very possible because she is afterall, the daughter of Ethel Theron.

Other Interesting Facts about Leona

She matriculated from Sparks Estate Senior Secondary School where she was consistently the top performing student. She claims that she is not good at maths, but she once again passed as the top student at what was known at the time as the higher grade level. She says that if she had not passed at the higher grade level, she would not have qualified for university.
Her grandmother was Zulu living in Umlazi, a township designated for black Africans. Right across the road was Wentworth, a township designated for Coloureds. Wentworth had better roads and schools; and her granny wanted her children to grow up under better conditions so she had herself and her family reclassified as Coloured. Leona still does not know how her granny managed to do that but admires her for her tenacity.
Her father is from Barkly East in the Eastern Cape
She decided to become a lawyer after watching the show, ‘Beste Professor’. It was an American show dubbed into Afrikaans, featuring the strict law professor Charles W. Kingsfield. It mainly focused on the relationship between the professor and his students.
The Fulbright Scholarship allowed her to complete her masters degree at the University of Georgetown in Washington DC. During her year in Washington DC, she worked as an intern at both a law centre and a law firm, as well as being the Special Assistant to the Director of the International Labour Organisation.
When she was appointed as a permanent judge to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, she was 32 and the youngest person to hold that position in South Africa.
In addition to playing piano, she is also proficient in the violin and loves writing poetry.
Constitutional Court on the 30th of June 2017, and began her ‘new job’ on the 1st of July 2017. The Constitutional Court, which is made up of 10 judges, is the highest court in the land and has the final say on all matters before the court. It also has the power to overturn decisions made by parliament if those decisions are against the constitution (the supreme law of the land).

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Introducing Constitutional Court Judge, Leona Theron

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