Judge Makhubele lawyers slap tribunal evidence leaders' suggestions she might’ve broken law

JOHANNESBURG - Embattled Judge Tintswalo Makhubele’s lawyers have slapped back at the evidence leaders in her Judicial Conduct Tribunal’s suggestions that she may have broken the law, accusing them of putting on “a show”.

The tribunal is probing various allegations of misconduct against Makhubele, including that during her time as chair of the interim Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) board, she pushed through a secret settlement agreement with a state capture-implicated contractor, which almost saw the entity lose more than R50 million.

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In his closing arguments on Monday, advocate Dorian Paver - for the evidence leaders - said there was strong prima facie evidence to suggest her conduct was in fact criminal.

In response, her counsel, advocate Thabani Masuku, had this to say: “Once you introduce the word of crime and you are saying that a judge has committed a crime, you are asking this tribunal to investigate a crime. 

“That is not what this tribunal was established for. But this was for the show, this was for the big show [that] Judge Makhubele, the so-called state capture judge, is accused of crimes."

Masuku’s also laid into submissions the complainant, lobby group Unite Behind, made on Monday to the effect that Makhubele acted intentionally to further an illicit purpose, insisting there was no evidence to back this up.