Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge; (Nelius Rademan/Foto24/Gallo Images)
A former colleague of Eastern Cape chief judge Selby Mbenenge testified in the Judicial Conduct Tribunal on Thursday that he continued to stalk her for sex even after she flatly rejected his advances.
Andiswa Mengo, a former secretary to another judge in the same division, in June 2021 confronts Mbenenge directly over the inappropriate nature of WhatsApp messages he sent her hours after he sent her the photo. He said he had decided to do so. his genitals.
She was in East London at the time and texted Mbenenge to say she was “embarrassed” after he sent her another explicit image, this time of a couple engaging in sexual activity. I remember sending it.
When Ms Mbenenge asked her to explain why, she replied that she would like to explain why when she returns to Grahamstown and can speak to her in person.
In response, Mengo said Mbenenge asked if they could be “close” after he returned.
“Let's face each other, not intimacy,” she emailed back.
Mengo said when Mbenenge persisted, she replied that it was impossible and also sent her a verse from the Psalm.
She told the court, led by former Gauteng chief judge Bernardo Ngoepe, that Mbenenge appeared undaunted, delivering the message: “What if we melt? It's not impossible” and a man fanning his face. He said he had sent him a sticker.
Mengo reportedly repeated, “That's impossible.”
She said she eventually ended the conversation by texting her “goodbye,” but that was followed by a message from Mbenenge, which she later deleted. Records showed she responded to one of the messages by yelling “Yes!”
When evidence leader Salome Scheepers asked what made her respond this way, Mengo became emotional and said, “One of them was a private part… it was a male private part.” Said.
She told the court Mbenegne later responded to the image with a message suggesting she send him a photo of his genitals.
“I was already in a position where I didn't even know how to respond to him as a boss,” she continued.
Mbenenge is the first judge to risk impeachment for sexual misconduct. He has denied sending the images in question, telling the Judicial Conduct Committee of the Judicial Commission that what happened between him and his complainant was consensual and that their interactions were frivolous and playful. He said he determined it was half.
Unless his advances are undesirable, impeachable charges cannot be sustained.
During four days of public testimony, the court examined numerous communications in which Mengo sent ambiguous responses to overtly sexual messages from senior judges.
Mr Ngoepe maintains that these should be read as literal interpretations without innuendo, but said her responses were not clear to him and would be further questioned during the course of the investigation.
On Thursday, Mr Scheepers asked Mr Mengo if he had ever contacted Mr Mbenenge with a view to meeting him in person, to which Mr Mengo replied: “Not at all.”
“I wasn't interested.” She later added that she realized the meeting was pointless because Mbenenge would have seen it as an opportunity to seduce her.
Mengo ignored many messages from Mbenenge during the days this exchange continued during his stay in East London. She finally answered the judge's message: “You're so quiet.”
When Mbenenge asked her if she was studying law, she replied that she was busy with study assignments. She said it was right and he wished her luck.
Mbenenge initiated contact again shortly thereafter. Scheepers added that records of their text messages showed her telling the judge she was bothering him because she was busy, which made his blood boil.
Asked to explain what he meant by this, Mengo repeated the word several times until Ngoepe interjected that the expression was usually used to express anger or excitement.
“Thank you, Judge. I was angry,” she replied.
But on June 23, Mengo changed his tune after Mbenenge emailed him again, calling him “greedy.”
She answered: “I like that. That way, when you arrive, you'll be interested.”
Mr. Scheepers asked what this meant, and Mr. Mengo replied that it meant that the respondent should remain greedy or lustful. While Scheepers was clearly trying to establish her motives, Mengo reiterated that she meant exactly what she said.
This reflects an exchange with an evidence leader on Wednesday in which Mr Shepards asked several times why Mr Mbenenge had replied to a mugshot he had sent with the comment “cute”, insisting that he did look cute in the photo. Ta.
Mr Scheepers finally asked Mr Mengo why he had changed his tone after he had mustered up the courage a few days earlier to make it clear to Mr Mbenenge that his advances were not welcome.
Mengo responded that she realized that speaking up would have no effect as the judge continued to contact her as before. She said she expected that if she responded in a way that would “satisfy him,” he would put her at ease.
The hearing is scheduled to continue on Friday.
