Bheki Maphalala (died 10 September 2026) was a Swazi jurist and lawyer who served as Chief Justice of Eswatini from 2015 until his death in 2026. He became a member of the Supreme Court in 2011. King Mswati III appointed Maphalala as chief justice after dismissing Michael Ramodibedi.
Early life and education Maphalala graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand with a Bachelor of Laws in 1990.
Career From 1992 to 2009, Maphalala worked as an attorney. Prince Logcogco appointed him to the Constitutional Review Commission in 1996. In 2002, Maphalala was appointed to the Constitution Drafting Committee.
In 2009, Maphalala was appointed a judge on the High Court. In 2011, Maphalala was appointed to the Supreme Court, becoming its first Swazi permanent member. The International Commission of Jurists stated that his appointment to the Supreme Court was in violation of the constitution as Maphalala had only served on the High Court for two years rather than the minimum of five years.
Maphalala ruled on 17 April 2013 that The Nation was guilty of "contempt by scandalizing the court" for two articles it published which criticised Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi in 2009 and 2010, and issued a fine of 300,000 Swazi lilangeni (around $20,000).
Arrest warrants were prepared by Ramodibedi against Mbutfo Mamba, Mumcy Dlamini, and Maphalala in 2014, and all three were noted to have angered Ramodibedi. King Mswati III dismissed Ramodibedi. Mswati appointed Maphalala, who was acting chief justice, to succeed Ramodibedi on 10 November 2015. As chief justice he also served as chair of the Judicial Service Commission. As of 2025, Maphalala had an annual salary of over 1 million Swazi lilangeni.
The Centre for Human Rights condemned Maphalala for disbarring Muzi Simelane in 2018, without a fair and public hearing.
Death Maphalala was hospitalised in South Africa due to an illness and died on 10 September 2026.
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