BL Premium reports that Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge’s legal team on Tuesday argued at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal that the complainant accusing him of sexually harassing her misled the hearing by omitting “disgusting” messages in which she reciprocated his sexual advances. The complainant, judges’ secretary Andiswa Mengo, had testified on Tuesday, the seventh day of the tribunal, that Mbenenge’s persistent sexual advances towards her had left her traumatised. The tribunal’s purpose is to determine whether Mbenenge’s conduct in his engagements with the subordinate constituted sexual harassment. In law, sexual harassment is defined as “unwarranted conduct which is persistent or serious or creates an intimidating environment which is related to sex, gender or sexual orientation”. Advocate Salome Scheepers wrapped up leading evidence on Mengo’s testimony on Tuesday. Acting for Mbenenge, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane in his cross-examination argued that Mengo “misled” the tribunal by not detailing her “sexual responses” in her affidavit. “The version of my client is that certain chats, some of them salacious, took place between the two of you. Do you agree with me that at some point you were exchanging equally salacious messages?” he asked. Mengo agreed that she did send salacious messages. Sikhakhane stated that Mengo did not communicate her discomfort to Mbenenge about the sexual advances. He argued her failure to communicate this could be construed as “consensual”.
Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive (subscriber access only). Read too, Judge’s secretary flirted back, argues lawyer, at GroundUp. And also, Mengo concedes that her interactions with Mbenenge could be reasonably concluded to be consensual, at EWN