JOHANNESBURG - Gender based violence expert Lisa Vetten has praised the outcome by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) after it found Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge guilty of gross misconduct.
The Commission's judgement overrides the Judicial Conduct Tribunal’s previous decision.
The allegations brought by the complainant, Andiswa Mengo, a secretary to one of the Judges in the Makhanda High Court, was that she was sexually harassed by Mbenenge over the period from approximately June 2021 to around November 2022.
"The reason why they only found Judge Mbenenge guilty of misconduct was because they said there was no sexual harassment, there was no power imbalance, so therefore there was no gross misconduct.
"He was only guilty of flirting, which was consensual.
"What the Commission did, which was very important, was that it looked at the evidence again and said that the Tribunal was wrong," she explained.
Vetten took the conversation further by highlighting the prevalence of such behaviour in the workspace, where women's boundaries are tested or ignored.
"It's extremely widespread. We don't know just how widespread it is, because of the difficulties. These cases are not easy to go and report, nor are these hearings necessarily easy to put yourself through, as I think people observed in the Mbenenge matter," she said.
Vetten said the JSC's decision to overturn the tribunal findings has sent a strong message to other presiding officers in other cases.
Beyond the courtrooms, Vetten said the case should also encourage workplaces to look at their policies.