Qinisile Mabuza made history when she became the first female attorney in Swaziland in 1978. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland and her Master of Laws from the University of South Africa, where she specialized in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Between 1994 and 2005, Qinisile served as a Non-Executive Director of the Central Bank of Swaziland and simultaneously as Chairperson of the Swaziland Road Transportation Board (1994-1997) and a lecturer at the University of Swaziland (2002 – 2005). Her depth of knowledge and experience led to her appointment on several Commissions of Enquiry including chairing the 2005 Phala Fund Enquiry.

Judge Mabuza was appointed as Judge of the High Court of Swaziland in 2005. Prior to that appointment, she was a Founding Partner and Attorney at Q.M. Mabuza and Associates. In 2016, she was appointed as a judge of the court of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and subsequently as Principal Judge of the COMESA Court – First Instance Division where she continues to serve in that role coupled with her second term as a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists following her election in 2013. Mabuza’s call for debates on legalizing abortion, enhancing redress and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence, and her landmark case which gave married women the right to own and administer property in their own names in Swaziland are explicit depictions of her advocacy for gender equality.