Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge’s future as a judge hangs in the balance as the probe into his conduct continues.
Mbenenge is set to appear before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal again as it continues its fact-finding mission after a sexual harassment complaint was laid against him.
The top judge is accused of making unwanted sexual advances towards a high court secretary, Andiswa Mengo, between 2021 and 2022.
Selby Mbenenge
The hearings will sit for two weeks in Sandton, Johannesburg.
Establishing the tribunal has triggered the Section 177 process of the Constitution, which makes provision to remove a judge from office.
If the tribunal makes a gross misconduct finding against the top judge, it will present a report to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for consideration, and may confirm the finding of the tribunal.
The Constitution provides three grounds upon which a judge can be impeached, one of which is gross misconduct, another being gross incompetence and the last being that the judge suffers from an incapacity.
Therefore, if the finding of guilt is made against the judge and the JSC confirms it, it will then go to the National Assembly, which has to vote on the matter.
Only a two-thirds majority, that is 267 of the 400 members of Parliament, have to vote in favour of the impeachment.
Thereafter, the president has to act on the legislative body’s decision and address a letter to the judge explaining the date upon which they will cease to be such.
After this, the judge loses all their benefits, including a lifetime salary of over R2 million, in the case Mbenenge.
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