JudiciaryBL Premium reports that judges’ secretary Andiswa Mengo told the Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) on Wednesday that her boss, Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge, sent her an explicit picture of himself.

The ongoing sexual harassment inquiry could lead to Mbenenge’s impeachment should he be found guilty. Mengo became emotional when she was asked by evidence leader advocate Salome Scheepers whether she remembered some of the WhatsApp messages she received from Mbenenge on 21 June 2021, which were subsequently deleted. She said one of the deleted messages from the judge president contained a picture of his private parts taken in a toilet cubicle. Mengo said there was no face in the picture. The deleted messages were followed by a message saying “BJ”, which she understood to mean “blow job”.   Mbenenge has disputed sending “crude pictures” to Mengo. Earlier, she testified that Mbenenge had requested naked pictures of herself. According to the judicial conduct committee, which referred the matter to the tribunal, Mbenenge denied asking Mengo to “expose her upper body”. The judge also denied any impropriety on his part, arguing that communication between him and his subordinate was “consensual”. The hearing will continue on Thursday.  


Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page