By Anita Dangazele
- The JSC has advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Judge President Selby Mbenenge, pending Parliament’s decision on his possible impeachment.
- The case stems from a sexual harassment complaint laid by judges’ secretary Andiswa Mengo, and is the first of its kind against a South African judge.
The Judicial Service Commission has advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge from his duties, pending the National Assembly’s decision on whether to impeach him.
The recommendation follows a sexual harassment complaint laid by Andiswa Mengo, a judges’ secretary at the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda, over interactions with Mbenenge between June 2021 and November 2022.
A Judicial Conduct Tribunal initially found Mbenenge guilty only of a lesser degree of misconduct in January this year, describing an exchange of WhatsApp messages between the two as consensual flirtation and finding no power imbalance existed. Mengo’s legal team, the Women’s Legal Centre, strongly disputed that finding.
In March, the JSC overturned its own tribunal’s conclusion, an unprecedented step, finding Mbenenge guilty of gross misconduct and sexual harassment instead.
Legal advocacy group Judges Matter described the reversal as “novel and groundbreaking,” noting it was the first tribunal process of its kind involving sexual misconduct allegations against a South African judge.
Mbenenge has challenged the JSC’s finding in the Pretoria High Court, seeking to halt any impeachment steps while that review is heard. Today’s advisory to suspend him, made at a JSC meeting on 7 July that excluded members designated by the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces, moves the process forward regardless.
Under the Constitution, a judge can only be formally removed from office once the National Assembly has voted on the matter. Mbenenge remains on special leave in the meantime.
Pictured above: Judge President Selby Mbenenge.
Image source: File
