Mbenenge accuses Mengo of lying to Judicial Conduct Tribunal
The Eastern Cape Judge President is accused of making unwanted sexual advances towards the junior staffer between 2021 and 2022.
JOHANNESBURG - Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge has accused High Court secretary Andiswa Mengo of lying to the Judicial Conduct Tribunal investigating allegations of sexual harassment against him.
Mbenenge is accused of making unwanted sexual advances towards the junior staffer between 2021 and 2022.
A tribunal is sitting in Sandton, Johannesburg, to probe the allegations.
Three years ago, Mengo posted her sexual conversations with the senior judge on her WhatsApp status.
She has testified that she did this because she was extremely tired of inappropriate conversations with him and did not know what else to do.
However, the judge president disputed this when quizzed by evidence leader, Advocate Salome Scheepers.
“She described this as a cry for help, a way of saying ‘Here I am being sent inappropriate content by someone older, someone who holds power over me. Even someone's husband.' Did you consider how that conduct made her feel?”
To which Mbenenge answered, “She is lying. I dispute the version of the complainant. If you look at the language, if she would have had the audacity to address me in that fashion then it says a lot about her.”