WHEN Jacob Zuma named Mogoeng Mogoeng as chief justice of the Constitutional Court, ignoring controversy stirred up by his lack of experience and conservative Christian beliefs, many feared the president had planted a yes-man atop one of South Africa’s most revered institutions. This newspaper described Mr Mogoeng’s appointment in 2011 as “not encouraging” in view of existing tensions between the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the courts. Instead, unlike other appointees of Mr Zuma, Mr Mogoeng appears to have defied the critics. He is proving to be a feisty defender of judicial independence at a time when the courts sorely need a champion.

South Africa’s police and national prosecuting authority are widely considered compromised by political interference. By contrast the judiciary, in particular the Constitutional Court, is still seen as squeaky clean and independent. Last month, however, Mr Mogoeng took the highly unusual step of holding a news conference, flanked by 26 other senior judges, to criticise the government for interfering in the judicial process. In a statement he spelt out his view of the role of the courts and the law under South Africa’s progressive post-apartheid constitution. “The rule of law is the cornerstone of our constitutional democracy,” he declared. “As a nation, we ignore it at our peril.” He also asked that a meeting with Mr Zuma, which he is due to hold on August 27th, discuss “the dangers of the repeated and unfounded criticism” of the judiciary.

The ANC’s contempt of the courts, illustrated by the debacle over the visit of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, is especially alarming. When Mr Bashir attended an African Union summit in Johannesburg in June, the government ignored a High Court order and let him leave South Africa despite a warrant for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The international outcry was followed by numerous barbs from senior ANC politicians aimed at South Africa’s own judiciary. Blade Nzimande, a cabinet minister and head of the ANC-allied South African Communist Party, accused it of “overreaching” and encroaching on the territory of the executive. Gwede Mantashe, the ANC’s secretary-general, accused some sections of the judiciary of wanting to “create chaos for governance”.

Another concern is over judicial appointments: certain lawyers, worthy of promotion but suspected of being too independent, are being overlooked by the body responsible for vetting candidates. The bench is pushing back against the ANC; but the resilience of South Africa’s courts cannot be taken for granted.