The Judicial Conduct Tribunal witnessed a change in the case when the attorney who was leading the complainant’s testimony revealed that the complainant wished the respondent a happy Father’s Day.
According to advocate Salome Scheepers, Andiswa Menge, who is accusing Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge of sexual harassment, sent him the message.
This is despite what she told the court earlier — that Mbenenge sent her inappropriate text messages on WhatsApp, including a picture of his private part.
Admitted sending Father’s Day message to accused
When asked about the Father’s Day message, Menge, who works at Makhanda High Court as the judge’s secretary, confirmed that she did send the message to Mbenenge.
“You started the conversation on Father’s Day. At 6am you sent the respondent a message saying ‘happy father’s day Jola’. Was he the only judge you had sent the message to? Why did you see a need to do that?” asked Scheepers.
Menge responded: “He was not the only father I sent the message to. I sent it to other judges that I had worked with in the past. And I sent the message to him because it was an important day for fathers. He is a father at the end of the day.”
Questioned about deleted messages
Scheepers highlighted that some messages that were sent by Mbenenge to Menge were deleted. He asked why Menge reacted to them.
“I asked him why he sends and deletes stuff, knowing very well that I am busy,” she replied.
Scheepers asked why Menge was interested in seeing the messages. This considering that in the past, he had sent her “disgusting” messages.
“I wanted to see them because they were sent to me for me to see or read. And I wanted to see the messages so that I could respond.”
Scheepers asked how the graphic pictures and short sexual videos that were sent to her made her feel.
Judge’s graphic messages made her feel cheap
Menge claimed that she felt like a cheap woman. She said Mbenenge sent pictures of his private part and a 30 seconds video of a man and woman busy in bed.
“The messages made me feel that he was grooming me sexually. I felt like a cheap woman with no standards,” she responded.
The tribunal is continuing on Thursday.
