The Judicial Conduct Tribunal convened to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge has been postponed.

The postponement was due to unavailability of witnesses on Mbenenge’s side.

Mbenenge’s secretary, Andiswa Mengo, is accusing him of making unwelcome sexual advances towards her in 2022.

On Tuesday, the hearing was scheduled to deal with the testimony of gender expert Dr Lisa Vetten but following a discussion in chambers, retired Justice Bernard Ngoepe announced that the Tribunal would be postponed allowing Mbenenge’s legal team to prepare adequately.

Mbenenge’s lawyer, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, objected to Vetten going ahead with her testimony on the grounds that the summary of her evidence was not delivered on time.

Ngoepe explained the importance of allowing Vetten’s evidence to be presented, even in the face of uncertainty about its relevance.

“Having considered the matter properly, we have the view that we should rather err on the side of caution, rather allow evidence… We’re confident that if it is irrelevant, we’ll be able to hold accordingly at any time.”

He highlighted the judicial obligation to avoid excluding potentially crucial evidence.

On Monday, a CCTV footage shown at the tribunal excluded one of the dates which relates to Mengo’s complaint.

The footage centres around the day on which Mengo alleged she was called to the chambers of Mbenenge, where he allegedly asked her to perform oral sex on him and he wanted her to see the effect she has on him. According to Mengo, she ran out of his chambers and left the office for the day. 

Prabagaran Naidoo, director of Facilities and Security Management at the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) told the tribunal that protocol to view specific footage was not adhered to and an application to view and peruse it had not been submitted through the correct channels.

Naidoo said that he was contacted by Norman Mabuza who questioned him if it was correct for a judge to view footage without due process being followed. had not been submitted through the correct channels.

“He indicated that a judge requested for footage to be viewed through the control room operator. What I said to him was that if a judge saw fit to view footage there might be something that may come in future so let us copy that and keep it on the hard drive and if anything comes of it, we have footage. I only requested the footage that the judge requested through him (Mabuza). 

“Usually, an application would be made through my office stipulating the dates, time and exact reasons why the footage is being requested. Usually, it would be attached to a letter, mandating a person in the department to conduct a sanctioned investigation. Alternatively, if it is a SAPS case, a detective or any other person investigating from SAPS would provide us with a ‘cas’ number and request to view,” said Naidoo.

The tribunal has been postponed to June 30 – July 11, 2025.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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