Japanese Cape choose president, Selby Mbenenge. (Judges Matter)
Japanese Cape choose president Selbe Mbenenge replied to a request from the colleague who has accused him of sexual harassment for assist with a examine task on gender-based violence by sending her an image of a half-naked girl.
The alternate is recorded in proof traversed on Friday by the judicial conduct tribunal listening to testimony from Andiswa Mengo, a choose’s secretary within the division who testified this week that Mbenenge hounded her for intercourse over a interval of a number of months in 2021.
Mengo responded to the image of a muscular girl wearing solely a T-shirt by sending the choose president an emoji of a teary-eyed face.
She began weeping when proof chief Salome Scheepers requested her how the {photograph} Mbenenge despatched made her really feel.
“I felt bare and my feelings have been torn,” she replied when questioning resumed after an adjournment.
In the identical dialog with Mbenenge on July 7, she later despatched a sticker displaying a person hanging himself with rest room paper.
“I wished to inform him that these messages that he has despatched are placing me underneath plenty of stress,” she defined.
On the morning of July 8, the choose despatched her one thing he had written on gender-based violence, which he advised Mengo he deplored, as she had requested.
Mengo has repeatedly advised the tribunal that she felt and humiliated by the character of Mbenenge’s WhatsApp messages and the truth that, no matter how she responded, he invariably turned the dialog to intercourse.
The tribunal has heard all through this week that her dealing with of the state of affairs veered between firmly rejecting his advances and reciprocating with sexually-charged innuendo and, every so often, flattery.
The identical sample was evident within the transcripts of textual content conversations from which Scheepers led proof on Friday.
On 18 July, Mbenenge despatched a flurry of messages that have been subsequently deleted. This too was a sample of their conversations and Mengo has testified that these have been often pornographic pictures. She advised the tribunal that, on 17 June, Mbenenge despatched her an image of his penis earlier than asking for a sexual favour.
Mbenenge has categorically denied sending such {a photograph} and a variety of specific photos the day past which have been adopted by textual content messages through which, Mengo advised the tribunal, he was enquiring about her favorite sexual place.
The texts from the choose president to Mengo a month afterward the 18th, learn as unambiguously sexual.
Firstly of this dialog, there was a deleted picture, which the complainant stated was as soon as once more a cluster of images displaying a pair engaged in intercourse. She responded with a raft of emojis depicting a girl operating away.
Mbenenge went on to sort “half insertion”.
To this, Mengo replied with the phrases “foreplay kindles”. The choose replied: “I imply ultimately.”
The alternate continued on this vein with Mbenenge asking “slowly?” to which Mengo replied “please”. There was one other deleted message which Mengo stated contained the crude reference “Lengthy Tom”, which she interpreted as a reference to the dimensions of his penis. Her reply to this textual content, based on the transcript, was “Ofcoz”.
Scheepers requested why she responded on this method.
“Did you need foreplay?”
Mengo shook her head and stated not.
“I didn’t, me, myself, wish to have foreplay with him.”
Scheepers requested: “Then why did you ship this to him?”
Mengo replied: “I despatched this to him as a result of I didn’t know what to say and he’s somebody who simply doesn’t pay attention after I say ‘no’.”
The 37-year-old single mom has pressured all through her testimony that she was keenly conscious that Mbenenge held a robust place and that she feared she might lose her job.
She has additionally famous that she was aware of his age — 60 — and the truth that he’s a father and a revered church determine. At a number of turns, close to his age, she stated that she believed he ought to have been capable of learn between the strains of their exchanges and sense her reluctance and anger.
On Friday, she advised the tribunal that she felt “like his sufferer, when he texted as soon as in July to ask whether or not she was alone, as a result of she was, though she replied within the destructive.
What’s putting about their textual content conversations, will not be solely the content material, however the sheer frequency with which the choose president contacted in any respect hours, together with on weekends and public holidays.
Mbenenge has advised a judicial conduct committee of the Judicial Companies Fee that their interplay was “flirtatious” however consensual.
His authorized counsel, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, is anticipated to argue this line when his consumer takes the witness stand on the tribunal.
In December, the chairman of the tribunal, retired Gauteng choose president Bernard Ngoepe, dominated that proof that was not denied by Mbenenge can be heard publicly, however proof on messages he denied sending can be heard in digicam.
Nevertheless, this modified earlier this week when Mbenenge dropped his objection to all proof being open to the general public, main authorized observers to take a position that Sikhakhane would painting the grievance as a manhunt on a senior member of the judiciary.
Mbenenge is the primary choose in South Africa to face impeachment for sexual misconduct. Ngoepe has stated the proof being heard has the potential to do grave hurt to the judiciary.
The listening to is scheduled to proceed till 24 January.