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HomeLegalMbenenge Misconduct Hearing Postponed Until May

Mbenenge Misconduct Hearing Postponed Until May

The Judicial Conduct Tribunal hearing into the sexual harassment claims against Eastern Cape Judge President, Selby Mbenenge, has been postponed until May 2025.

Friday’s proceedings marked the conclusion of the cross-examination of High Court Secretary, Andiswa Mengo, the complainant in the matter. Mengo has testified that she received explicit texts and images from Mbenenge between 2021 and 2022, which she claims were unwanted. Mbenenge, however, has consistently maintained that their interactions were consensual.

During the cross-examination, Mbenenge’s lawyer, Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane SC highlighted inconsistencies in Mango’s testimony, particularly questioning why she had not included her responses in the screenshots of the messages she submitted as evidence. Sikhakhane also challenged Mengo on discrepancies in her statements, suggesting that the communications may not have been as non-consensual as Mengo had described.

Sikhakhane went further, suggesting that if Mbenenge were found guilty, Mengo should also face severe consequences for allegedly lying under oath. He disputed Mengo’s account of the conversations, asserting that Mbenenge never sent explicit images and that any claims to the contrary would be disproven by cellphone data analysts. The defense argued that no such nude images existed on either Mengo or Mbenenge’s phones when they were downloaded for investigation purposes.

Mengo defended her actions, explaining that two years prior to the misconduct hearing, she had handed over her phone to authorities investigating a separate intimidation case. She claimed that after receiving a threatening call in January 2023 to withdraw her case against Mbenenge, some data, including relevant evidence, went missing when the phone was returned to her in March 2023.

The tribunal also heard that Mbenenge would dispute Mengo’s version of the events. Sikhakhane argued that despite Mengo feeling uncomfortable, she did not explicitly reject the judge president’s advances, suggesting that Mbenenge’s version of events would reflect that he believed the conversations were not unwelcome.

Mengo, however, denied this interpretation, stating that she had made her discomfort clear, particularly during a June 2021 conversation on WhatsApp where Mbenenge asked whether they could be intimate. Mengo recalled referring Mbenenge to a verse from the Xhosa Bible, Psalm 1:1, which begins with the word “no,” before directly rejecting his advances with a bold “NO” and a message stating, “We should meet but not become intimate.”

The text reads in isiXhosa “Hayi, uyolo lomntu ongahambiyo ngecebo labangendawo, Ongemiyo endleleni yaboni, Ongahlaliyo embuthweni yabagxeki!”.

Retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who is presiding over the hearing, adjourned proceedings on Friday and announced the case would be postponed until 5 to 16 May 2025.

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