Mail & Guardian reports that flirtatious text messages between Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge and junior legal professional Andiswa Mengo were at the centre of Tuesday’s session of the judicial conduct tribunal in which he faces sexual harassment charges.

Mbenenge told the tribunal that the tone of the text exchanges was “sensual” rather than sexual, and emphasised that he and Mengo had not been physically intimate. Taking the stand months into the tribunal, Mbenenge insisted that he did nothing wrong in pursuing a romantic relationship with Mengo, saying he was not her supervisor and blamed a smear campaign for the harassment claims. Mengo has accused Mbenenge of sexually hounding her while she was based at the Mthatha High Court, including sending inappropriate WhatsApp messages and requesting nude photographs of her. Text messages have taken centre stage in the evidence, with digital forensic analysts and linguistic experts unpacking their subliminal meanings. The complainant says they show harassment but Mbenenge’s lawyers say the tone was neutral and standard. Gender expert Lisa Vetten has testified that because of workplace power imbalance between Mbenenge and Mengo it would have been difficult for her to outrightly reject his sexual advances. Mbenenge dismissed the suggestion that Mengo had firmly said “no” multiple times during their exchanges, stating he did not encounter a “no” when reading the transcript of the text messages.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Nkateko Joseph Mabasa at Mail & Guardian
• Read too, Mbenenge inquiry told of peeled bananas, a marinade, and men ‘muffing’, at Daily Maverick

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