How much did judges really spend on their Durban conference?

Some judges expressed alarm when they were provided plane ticket options for R8,500 and R9,195 for a Johannesburg–Durban roundtrip that normally costs about R3,000. Illustration: Lisa Nelson

• A conference of the judiciary took place in Umhlanga, Durban from 13 to 16 July.
• The conference was organised by the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) and the travel agent was TWF, also known as Travel With Flair, based in Johannesburg.
• Some judges expressed alarm when they were quoted plane ticket options at about R9,000 for return flights between Johannesburg and Durban. These tickets normally cost about R3,000.
• When pressed to explain this, the OCJ gave us an unsatisfactory reply.
• It’s unclear what the OCJ ultimately paid for plane tickets, other travel, accommodation at the Radisson and Capital Pearls hotels and the conference facilities at the Premier Hotel, because, more than a month since the conference, “invoices are still being processed, and final expenditure is unavailable at this stage”.

A return economy plane ticket at a cost of R8,501 between Johannesburg and Durban was quoted by TWF, the appointed travel agent of the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ), for a judiciary conference. These tickets should normally cost about R3,000.

Every few years, the Office of the Chief Justice hosts the conference. This year it was held from 13 to 16 July at the Premier Hotel in Umhlanga. Delegates stayed at the Radisson and Capital Pearls hotels, a few kilometres away.

Over 200 judges and magistrates from across the country attended.

GroundUp has seen a quote for a choice between two return economy class tickets from Johannesburg to Durban. “Please note only two options available,” the quote states. One is R8,501 and the other is R9,195.

After some judges questioned the inflated ticket prices, it’s unclear what the OCJ ended up paying.

The high ticket prices also raised concerns about what the OCJ paid for accommodation and other conference expenses. But a month later, the OCJ has apparently not finalised invoices.

GroundUp sent a query to the OCJ on 4 August. On 7 August the OCJ responded: “Invoices are still being processed, and final expenditure is unavailable at this stage.” We asked for the expenditure report again this week but received no response.

TWF at first did not respond to our questions, but just before publication emailed us indicating that it deferred to the OCJ to answer our questions.

In response to a question about the high ticket prices, the OCJ responded: “TWF advised that domestic airlines apply different booking class designations and fare rules depending on the fare class and route. Airfares range from fully flexible economy fares (Y class) to the most restricted fare classes (I class), each with varying pricing and conditions, hence the initial quote of R8,500.”

But this doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. The conference dates must have been known well in advance and travel agents should have access to better prices than the general public.

This was confirmed by a respected travel agent we spoke to, who provided us with a quote for a return flight between Johannesburg and Durban for R2,073. Even if last minute changes were needed to some of the flights, the price of cancelling tickets and buying new tickets would have come in at well under R8,500.

The agent we spoke to explained that while travel agents can legitimately charge a markup on the quotes they get, they should still usually beat prices that the general public has access to.

Ticket prices may have become elevated during the July school holidays but certainly not by the amount quoted by TWF, and not if bookings were made timeously.

What the OCJ ultimately paid remains unknown.

We have previously raised concerns about profligate OCJ expenditure. In 2019, when Mogoeng Mogoeng was Chief Justice, we ran a report titled Chief Justice’s office spent R114-million on travel.

The OCJ’s budget in 2024/25 (excluding judges’ salaries) was approximately R1.3-billion, of which R280-million was for administration.

The OCJ website lists Marelize Potgieter, an advocate, as the Acting Secretary General. She has technical responsibility for the OCJ. But some responsibility for the OCJ also lies with Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo.

Travel With Flair

TWF, officially registered as Travel with Flair, has four directors: Basetsana Kumalo (Miss South Africa in 1994), Johanna Makgalemele (Kumalo’s older sister and winner of various business awards), Robert Wilke and Tibor Zsadanyi.

The OCJ’s November 2025 bidding document for a travel management company makes several references to affordable costs, for example: “The [travel management company] will book the most cost-effective airfares possible for domestic, regional and international travel.”

TWF was appointed the OCJ’s “travel management service provider” on 1 April 2026. This presumably gave the company enough time to source affordable travel and accommodation for the conference.

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