FS High Court Deputy Judge President Mbhele lashes provincial DPP over judge request

JOHANNESBURG - The deputy judge president of the Free State division of the High Court, Nobulawo Mbhele, has lashed out at the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the province.  

This followed the DPP's request for a judge from a different division to preside over the asbestos trial involving former Premier Ace Magashule. 

In the letter, the DPP requested that a senior judge with experience in complex criminal matters be allocated to the case.

However, the deputy judge president did not take kindly to the request, saying that the correspondence cast serious aspersions on the Free State bench that they were incompetent and disqualified from handling the matter. 

But researcher and advocacy officer at Judges Matter, Mbekezeli Benjamin, said that such requests were not out of the ordinary.

"Usually, the reasons put forward are that the issues involved in a particular case are complex and will use up a lot of judicial resources, and so it might be better to get a special allocation of the judge so that they have enough time to deal with all of the issues."  

However, Benjamin said it was unusual for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to make such a request at this hour after the case was already enrolled in the division almost three years ago and was already in the pre-trial processes.

The trial is expected to commence in April 2025.