By Anita Dangazele
- Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge filed papers in the Gauteng High Court on Monday to overturn a JSC gross misconduct ruling against him.
The Judicial Service Commission found Mbenenge guilty of sexually harassing Andiswa Mengo and has referred his case to the National Assembly, where a two-thirds vote could remove him from office permanently.
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge has gone to court to block a gross misconduct finding that could see Parliament permanently remove him from the bench.
Mbenenge filed urgent papers in the Gauteng High Court on Monday, asking it to review and overturn the finding made against him by the Judicial Service Commission. The JSC made that finding in April.
Mbenenge has been on voluntary special leave since his disciplinary process began. He is not formally suspended, but the JSC is now considering advising President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend him.
The case stems from a complaint by Andiswa Mengo, who worked as a judges secretary at the Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda. Mengo alleges that between 2021 and 2022, Mbenenge sent her unwanted sexual messages on WhatsApp and engaged her in sexual conversation in person.
A Judicial Conduct Tribunal investigated the complaint and cleared Mbenenge of gross misconduct. It found him guilty of a lesser charge, describing his behaviour as “flirtatious misconduct” that breached the Judicial Code of Conduct.
The JSC rejected that conclusion. The commission found that Mbenenge abused the power he held over Mengo as her workplace superior, and upgraded the finding to gross misconduct.
Under Section 177 of the Constitution, gross misconduct is grounds for removing a judge from office. The JSC has referred the case to the National Assembly. A two-thirds majority vote in Parliament would permanently remove Mbenenge from the bench.
Mbenenge’s legal team is asking the Gauteng High Court to set aside the JSC’s decision before that process goes any further.
Pictured above: Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge.
Image source: File
