Masipa: newshound to judge

SHE could hardly have imagined when she was covering her crime beat years ago that she would one day be the presiding judge in a sensational trial that would be watched all over the world.

And yet it would not have surprised Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa that the media had such an interest in the extraordinary case of Olympic hero turned murder accused Oscar Pistorius and the bizarre killing of his girlfriend, Port Elizabeth-raised model Reeva Steenkamp.

After all, Judge Masipa used to be a newshound and her experience involved reporting on extraordinary, often life-ordeath events.

The 66-year-old Gauteng High Court judge and grandmother has naturally been a talking point since Pistorius’s televised trial began in early March. But it was her judgment delivered during the past two days that really got tongues wagging, with public and legal opinion divided on her dismissal of murder charges and her controversial view that the state had not proved murder dolus eventualis.

But who is this woman the world has been listening to so intently since Thursday?

Born in Soweto in 1947, she matriculated from Immaculata High School in Alexandra township in 1966 and later graduated in 1974 with a BA in social work – a profession which she initially pursued.

But then an interest in journalism kicked in. And it was as crime reporter for the Sowetan and a journalist on other publications – like Pace magazine and The World and Post newspapers – that Masipa not only developed a keen interest in the role of the media in a then-still deeply oppressed South Africa under apartheid government rule, but also a fascination with the law.

Her former colleague Nomavenda Mathiane – who worked with her on the Sowetan – told Weekend Post yesterday that Masipa was “laid back” in her reporting days.

“It was like she had this invisible cordon around her. She could draw you in, or not draw you in.

“We were in our 30s and after work, while the rest of us would go out jolling, she would rather go to the library.” Mathiane said one thing Masipa definitely did not do was suffer fools gladly. “You had to know your story.”

On the manner in which Masipa had handled the Pistorius trial, Mathiane said she was “not surprised” at the outcome.

“She allowed the defence plenty of leeway. Even when it came to allowing him to go for psychiatric evaluation and giving him freedom with regard to his arriving and leaving the institution every day.