An intense cross-examination of Dr Vincent Mello took place after evidence leader advocate Salome Scheepers asked about his qualifications.
Mello, who was introduced by the legal representatives of the respondent in the sexual harassment complaint, Judge President Selby Mbenenge, struggled to answer questions posed at him by Scheepers.
The information and communications technology expert told the judicial tribunal sitting in Sandton that he is a member of a consortium that deals with emojis, their meanings, and the computer language.
Questioned on legal expertise
However, when asked by Scheepers if his qualifications link him to the legal field, it surfaced that none of his qualifications were linked to law.
“I am not in the legal space, and my expertise is in the ICT, like I said earlier,” he said.
Scheepers zoomed into his CV.
“In your CV I couldn’t find any reviews or peer reviews. Am I correct?” She asked.
Mello agreed. However, he explained that that is the case because the emojis field is an emerging space.
“Meaning it’s not a fixed space; it’s evolving,” said Scheepers.
“Yes. We are on version 16, and it is growing,” Mello responded.
Linguistics and conversations
When asked if he was an expert in conversations, the linguistics of it, Mello told the tribunal that he was not.
Presiding Judge Bernard Ngoepe asked Mello if one was required to have certain minimum qualifications to get into the consortium that he is a part of.
“No,” he responded.
“On what level of membership are you at the consortium?” Scheepers asked.
“I’m on the member level,” he replied.
Scheepers moved to the WhatsApp analysis, where Mello said when a person types “running”, a running emoji will automatically appear.
“You said that if a person types ‘running’ on WhatsApp, a running emoji will pop up. I am going to hand you the latest Samsung S24. Please type ‘running’ and tell me if it comes up,” she said as the phone was passed to Mello.
“That depends on whether the phone is an Android or iOS,” he said.
Focus on WhatsApp emojis
“No, Dr I said to type running there on the phone that I gave you. Do you see a running emoji? Yes or no? Please do not give me a long answer,” she said.
However, Mello asked for a different phone and started to explain the difference between phones. But Judge Ngoepe interjected.
“I think as you give a long explanation, the answer gets lost in the process. Just stick to the direct answers,” he said.
“Okay, Chair, there’s no emoji here,” he responded.
The tribunal continues on Friday, and Mello will wrap up his testimony.
