As Pietermaritzburg gears up for the start of the corruption trial of former deputy president Jacob Zuma on July 31, speculation is rife among legal practitioners about the appointment of the judge who will hear the case.

While KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala is maintaining his silence on the issue, saying only that he will officially announce the judge when he is ready to do so, legal sources in the province are tipping Pietermaritzburg Judge Herbert Msimang as the most likely contender.

Msimang, described as a man with a "brilliant legal mind", began his legal career in Pietermaritzburg in the early 1980s.

With acknowledgements to Ingrid Oellermann and The Mercury.