Sexual Harassment in the Judiciary: The Ongoing Tribunal of Judge Mbenenge

The second sitting of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal against Mbenenge ran for seven days, from Monday, 5 May 2025 until Tuesday, 13 May 2025. The Judicial Conduct Tribunal was held at the Capital Hotel, Empire, Sandton Johannesburg.

During the first sitting of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal, Mengo gave a chilling testimony to the effect that Mbenenge used his position of power to sexually harass and intimidate her. Her testimony revealed the depth of fear experienced in the workplace and the profound power imbalance at play in complaints such as the one at hand.

In the second sitting of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal, the Evidence Leader, Advocate Salome Scheepers, called seven witnesses to testify.

• Francois Moller – a digital forensics analyst, testified that there is no forensic evidence that Mbenenge sent an explicit image of his genitals to Mengo. He further testified that although this is the case, deleted or overwritten messages cannot be recovered.
• Dr Zakeera Docrat – a forensic linguist, analysed WhatsApp messages between Mbenenge and Mengo. She testified that several emojis used by Mbenenge carried clear sexual connotations. She further testified that the exchanges between Mbenenge and Mengo, over time, shifted from professional to inappropriate. She also testified that Mengo’s frequent use of laughing and embarrassed emojis reflected discomfort and an attempt to deflect Mbenenge’s sexual advances. This goes to the core of the power imbalances in many cases of alleged sexual harassment.
• Mrs Kutlwano Moretlwe – a former Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary, testified that it was incorrect that former Chief Justice Zondo was dissatisfied with Mengo’s original complaint. She testified that an administrative error occurred where the former Chief Justice Zondo informed her that he had misplaced Mengo’s original complaint. As a result, Mengo, with the assistance from Moretlwe, had to resubmit her complaint to the JSC.
• Ntomboxolo Brenda Jobela – a Gqeberha High Court secretary testified that Mengo had forwarded her explicit images, alleging they were sent to her by Mbenenge. She further testified that she recognised Mbenenge’s clothing from photos allegedly sent to Mengo.
• Abongile Tshete – a Mthatha High Court secretary, testified that she was among those who saw the WhatsApp texts between Mbenenge and Mengo. She testified that Mengo posted the texts in her status for everyone to see, and she also caught sight of the conversations. She further testified that Mengo revealing those conversations through her WhatsApp status caused Mbenenge distress. As a result, through her, Mbenenge requested to have a meeting with Mengo. Mengo refused the proposed meeting. She confirmed that concern grew among colleagues as she described Mbenenge as a “father figure”.
• Denim Kroqwana – the director of court operations in the Eastern Cape, testified that Mengo had telephone called him in November 2022, complaining about the inappropriate communication by Mbenenge. He further testified that a portrait of Mbenenge, which was hanging outside Mengo’s office had gone missing and it was later discovered that Mengo had removed the portrait as it “traumatised” her. However, when she returned to office in January 2025, she discovered that the portrait was rehung and secured in a lockable frame. Mengo complained to Kroqwana that the portrait was traumatising her, and it was removed again.
• Prapagaran Naidoo – the director of facilities and security management, gave a testimony in relation to the missing CCTV footage. He testified that the CCTV footage from 15 November 2022 – one of the days on which Mengo alleges the judge exposed himself – is missing. Naidoo testified that he cannot account for the missing 15 November 2022 missing footage, that footage can be tampered with once it is removed from the system, and that he only realised the significance of the missing footage after media reports relating to the complaint surfaced.

The last witness that ought to have been called by the Evidence Leader, was Ms Lisa Vetten, a gender expert. However, Mbenege’s legal team objected to Vetten giving her testimony in the second sitting of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal. The basis of the objection was that the summary of Vetten’s evidence had not been delivered on time. Mbenenge’s legal team also questioned the relevance of Vetten’s testimony. Fortunately, the chair of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal, retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, made a ruling to the effect that Vetten’s testimony should proceed despite the objections raised. He noted that it is always best to err on the side of caution when it comes to evidence.

The Judicial Conduct Tribunal was postponed to 30 June 2025 until 11 July 2025. It is expected that during this time Vetten will give her testimony as a gender expert. It is also expected that Mbenenge will take the stand as well, as his legal team had expressed that he is ready to do so during the second sitting. It is further expected that Mbenenge’s legal team will call witnesses to testify.

From the evidence presented, it appears that the complaint was first lodged in December 2022. When former Chief Justice Zondo misplaced the complaint, Mengo had to lodge the complaint again in January 2023. It is over two years now, and the complaint is just halfway through to being brought to finality. One can only remain hopeful that the amended sexual harassment policy for the judiciary will set strict timelines for the dealing of sexual harassment complaints, which are sensitive in their very nature.