Johannesburg — THERE has been much speculation lately about who might replace Chief Justice Pius Langa when his term of office expires in October.

But whatever the merits (or otherwise) of the judges whose names are being bandied about, it will be hard for president Jacob Zuma to find much reason not to appoint the current deputy chief justice, Dikgang Moseneke.

Indeed, if Zuma passes over Moseneke, it can only be read as a signal that party politics prevailed in the appointment of the highest judge in the land. That would be a dangerous signal to send. It would put valuable perceptions of the independence and integrity of SA's judiciary at risk. It would be a big step back for the new administration, which so far has hardly put a foot wrong when it comes to major appointments. And it could damage some of the careful work Zuma has been doing to give comfort to investors and build the market's confidence in the new government,

SA needs a chief justice who is a good jurist and a good human being. He or she must have moral stature and a good legal brain and must be committed to the human rights and pro-poor values of our constitution. But this person must also be a good leader, one who can unite a divided judiciary.

Moseneke is not necessarily the only person who could fit the bill. But he is certainly way up there. He is an impressive person, who was sent to Robben Island in his teens and spent a decade there but went on to become the first black advocate admitted to the Pretoria bar. He built a career in law and in business and was appointed Wits University chancellor in 2007.

Appointed to the bench in 2004, Moseneke has built a reputation as a conscientious, humane and hard-working judge who is highly regarded by his colleagues. His jurisprudential record is sound and he is seen as being a particularly good leader.

There are, in other words, no technical, legal or competence reasons not to elevate him from deputy chief justice to chief justice. SA is obsessed with succession planning -- well here is the perfect succession.

The only reason not to choose him would be political: because he was PAC, not ANC, in his youth, or because he bears the burden of having been preferred by former president Thabo Mbeki as the next chief justice, or, most likely, because of his birthday party comment last year.

That comment roused the ire of the Youth League and apparently blotted his copybook in the ANC. But what Moseneke actually said was not just innocuous, it was actually exactly what one should expect from a judge committed to the fundamental values of SA's constitution: "I chose this job very carefully. I have another 10 to 12 years on the bench and I want to use my energy to help create an equal society. It's not what the ANC wants or what the delegates want; it is about what is good for our people," said Moseneke.

You'd think he had called for regime change the way some in the ANC reacted. This is a critical appointment for the Zuma administration: it is not necessary for it to go wrong.