Senior magistrate Basil King bows out
Later, he worked as relief staff, filling in for magistrates and prosecutors around the country.
Senior magistrate Basil King (66) has recently retired from his position as the regional head for the South Coast courts.
A farewell function was held at Port Shepstone Country Club where his incredible career and many years of service excellence were celebrated.
King said he would miss meeting different people and solving difficult problems.
He’s has had an interesting and colourful career, starting out as a clerk in the Port Shepstone court in 1974.
“I was persuaded to study law by a magistrate and the rest is history,” he said.
Ironically, he would return to Port Shepstone to finish up his career, nearly four decades later.
It was here that he oversaw the courts in Ramsgate, Port Shepstone, Ixopo, Harding, Ezingolweni, Matatiele and Kokstad, all of which fall under the Durban sub-regional cluster.
After studying, King started his career as a prosecutor in Stanger and then moved to Howick.
Later, he worked as relief staff, filling in for magistrates and prosecutors around the country.
In 1990, he was approached to teach at the justice department’s college training institution in Pretoria.
It was there that he spent 23 years teaching the judiciary system to magistrates and prosecutors.
“It was gratifying to train people and see them progress to become prosecutors, regional magistrates and even deputy judge presidents. To watch them climb the ladder and get to those top positions was very rewarding,” he said.
He married Moira in 1981, and they currently live in Umtentweni. They have two sons.
Another accomplishment was that he managed the provincial pool and snooker teams, and travelled to Blackpool in 2007, as a manager for the national side.
He is now looking forward to his well-deserved retirement, which is highly likely to be spent playing golf, snooker and pool with some fishing thrown in as well – and, if Covid-19 allows, some travel around the country with Moira.
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