There have been renewed calls for Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge to step down or face possible suspension after the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) recommended that the sexual harassment allegation against him be referred to a tribunal investigation.
The JCC found on Friday that a Makhanda judge’s secretary, who has worked at the court for more than a decade, had established a prima facie case that the 62-year-old Mbenenge had sexually harassed her and that the matter should be referred to a tribunal investigation.
The alleged harassment took place between June 2021 and November 2022. It was alleged that this included WhatsApp messages of a sexual nature.
Mbenenge could face impeachment if the prima facie finding is substantiated before a tribunal, according to the Women’s Legal Centre, which is representing the complainant in the matter.
The centre has welcomed the JCC’s decision to recommend the matter be aired before a tribunal.
It said in a statement that the tribunal process had the power to find the judge president guilty of gross misconduct which “carried a sanction consequence of impeachment”.
The centre said that its client had suffered severe emotional, physical, financial and psychological harm. The organisation made its oral submissions to the JCC in June on behalf of the complainant.
“We sought to remind the JCC that at the heart of sexual harassment lies the power dynamic in the workplace ... and of [the need] to ensure that all places where women work are free from sexual harassment and violence, including the very place where justice must be seen to be done.”
The centre said sexual harassment remained rife in all work spaces, including the legal profession. It said victims were all too often silenced because men held the power.
The centre said its client was grateful for having been heard and it would now prepare for the tribunal hearing. It called for the tribunal process to proceed without delay.
Independent judicial monitoring organisation Judges Matter said the JCC’s referral triggered a section of the Judicial Service Commission Act requiring the commission to advise President Cyril Ramaphosa whether Mbenenge should be suspended pending the tribunal’s investigation.
The section in question says that when the appointment of a tribunal is requested, the commission is required to immediately inform the president in writing, including “the desirability of suspension”.
Judges Matter co-ordinator Alison Tilley had in February called in vain for Mbenenge to step down in light of the “extremely serious complaint”.
Mbenenge said at the time that the regulatory framework did not require him to do so just because he was “the subject of investigation of an untested allegation”.
Judges Matter has called for an overarching anti-harassment policy for the judiciary.
The Herald
Renewed calls for EC judge president to step down
Sexual harassment allegation spooks legal eagle
There have been renewed calls for Eastern Cape judge president Selby Mbenenge to step down or face possible suspension after the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) recommended that the sexual harassment allegation against him be referred to a tribunal investigation.
The JCC found on Friday that a Makhanda judge’s secretary, who has worked at the court for more than a decade, had established a prima facie case that the 62-year-old Mbenenge had sexually harassed her and that the matter should be referred to a tribunal investigation.
The alleged harassment took place between June 2021 and November 2022. It was alleged that this included WhatsApp messages of a sexual nature.
Mbenenge could face impeachment if the prima facie finding is substantiated before a tribunal, according to the Women’s Legal Centre, which is representing the complainant in the matter.
The centre has welcomed the JCC’s decision to recommend the matter be aired before a tribunal.
It said in a statement that the tribunal process had the power to find the judge president guilty of gross misconduct which “carried a sanction consequence of impeachment”.
The centre said that its client had suffered severe emotional, physical, financial and psychological harm. The organisation made its oral submissions to the JCC in June on behalf of the complainant.
“We sought to remind the JCC that at the heart of sexual harassment lies the power dynamic in the workplace ... and of [the need] to ensure that all places where women work are free from sexual harassment and violence, including the very place where justice must be seen to be done.”
The centre said sexual harassment remained rife in all work spaces, including the legal profession. It said victims were all too often silenced because men held the power.
The centre said its client was grateful for having been heard and it would now prepare for the tribunal hearing. It called for the tribunal process to proceed without delay.
Independent judicial monitoring organisation Judges Matter said the JCC’s referral triggered a section of the Judicial Service Commission Act requiring the commission to advise President Cyril Ramaphosa whether Mbenenge should be suspended pending the tribunal’s investigation.
The section in question says that when the appointment of a tribunal is requested, the commission is required to immediately inform the president in writing, including “the desirability of suspension”.
Judges Matter co-ordinator Alison Tilley had in February called in vain for Mbenenge to step down in light of the “extremely serious complaint”.
Mbenenge said at the time that the regulatory framework did not require him to do so just because he was “the subject of investigation of an untested allegation”.
Judges Matter has called for an overarching anti-harassment policy for the judiciary.
The Herald
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