Sunday Times reports that Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge is facing an investigation by the Judicial Conduct Committee after claims of sexual harassment were levelled against him by a judge’s clerk based in the Makhanda High Court.
The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) did not respond to a request on Wednesday for confirmation of the complaint against Mbenenge. The complaint was made in December. On Thursday, Mbenenge issued a “desist” demand through an East London firm of attorneys against the Sunday Times after he was approached for his side of the story. Mbenenge’s attorney, Simphiwe Mbabane, said “the allegations that you want to publish are of a very serious and very scandalous nature; they are untrue and cannot be reversed`’. But in the letter of demand, Mbabane wrote: “The matter is still under investigation by the Judicial Conduct Committee… Our client has requested to be furnished with further particulars that will enable him to better comprehend the complaint against him.” The complaint was submitted to the OCJ’s Midrand head office by judge’s clerk Andiswa Mengo and concerns a series of face-to-face and electronic exchanges between the complainant and Mbenenge during 2021 and 2022. Early in February, Mengo was spirited out of the Eastern Cape for her own safety after receiving an anonymous cellphone call death threat. She was redeployed to an unspecified position in the office of the superintendent-general in the OCJ’s Midrand offices.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ray Hartle at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)
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