Judge President Selby Mbenenge's emoji evidence scrutinised in sexual harassment tribunal
Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal
Sexual harassment accused Judge President Selby Mbenenge's legal counsel at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal put their own emoji expert witness on the stand on Thursday where he gave evidence relating to Whatsapp exchanges between JP Mbenenge and complainant Andiswa Mengo.
On Thursday morning, Dr Vincent Mello an expert in Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) specialising in Research and Information Science gave evidence relating to the use of emojis as it is used in Unicode (a system for encoding virtually all characters used in computers, ensuring consistent representation across different platforms and languages) globally.
Giving testimony on Thursday, Dr Mello gave a detailed breakdown of the amount of times certain emojis were used between both parties on the WhatsApp application, adding that cumulatively, emojis were used approximately 189 times between JP Mbenenge and Mengo.
It was Dr Mello's evidence that, according to Emojipedia, the peach represents 'bums', and the eggplant emoji represents the 'male private part'.
It was Mengo's allegation that both emojis, including a peeled banana, was sent to her by the JP Mbenenge via WhatsApp chat but he then deleted the messages, not before she managed to take screenshots of the messages.
Further to a line of questioning, by advocate Muzi Sikhakhane for JP Mbenenge, Dr Mello was probed about a picture depicting a male private part, allegedly also sent by JP Mbenenge to Mengo and whether it could be ascertained who sent the message.
Dr Vincent Mello gave a detailed breakdown of the amount of times certain emojis were used between both parties on the WhatsApp application, adding that cumulatively, emojis were used approximately 189 times between JP Selby Mbenenge and sexual harassment complainant Andiswa Mengo.
Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal
Dr Mello said it could not be ascertained by whom the message was sent.
Dr Mello, probed about whether the parties had used the emojis in accordance with the ascribed Unicode, said: 'It is my opinion that with a good number of accuracy they are associated with that. There are two that I want to make mention of. The peach and the eggplant…when you go to Emojipedia, it does also make reference to say that a peach would generally represent the bums and the eggplant, the male private part.'
Dr Mello referenced an Instagram campaign during 2015 to have the eggplant emoji banned in that associated usage.
Previously the Tribunal heard evidence from Dr Zakeera Docrat, a forensic and legal linguist and researcher, who confirmed that the context in which emojis were sent to Mengo by JP Mbenenge depicted sexual acts.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Veteran Kill Bill actor found dead at his home
Hollywood actor Michael Madsen died on July 3, at his home in California. image: Instagram/michaelmadsenofficial Veteran actor Michael Madsen has died at the age of 67. The highly-praised actor is best known for his antagonistic roles in such Quentin Tarantino classics as Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill. HOW THE WORLD CAME TO LOSE MICHAEL MADSEN The 67-year-old Madsen was found at his home in Malibu, California, on the morning of July 3, 2025. ADVERTISEMENT The actor was pronounced dead on the scene after he succumbed to cardiac arrest, which his manager has confirmed. MICHAEL MADSEN'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO HOLLYWOOD Madsen enjoyed the limelight for more than 40 years and amassed more than 300 film and television credits. He had a knack for really locking into roles that saw him portray an antagonist, which led him and Tarantino to develop an on-screen rapport of the highest order. THE RAZOR BLADE AND THE EAR Madsen has a myriad of memorable scenes, but none more iconic than the torture scene in the quintessential, Tarantino film, Reservoir Dogs (1992). A robbery goes awry due to a cop infiltrating a caper. The unhinged Mr Blonde, portrayed by Madsen, goes about sniffing the mole out. He zeros in on the person he thinks is compromised and slices his ear off while dancing playfully to Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel. OTHER MUST-SEE MADSEN APPEARANCES Madsen will usually be a dark character, as is evinced by his work in such films as Donnie Brasco (1997), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Kill Bill: Volumes 1 and 2 (2003-2004). He showed a softer side to his art in Free Willy (1993) and portrayed an anti-hero in Sin City (2005) as the crooked cop, Bob. His sister Virginia Madsen-an Oscar nominated actor-paid homage to her brother with some sincere sentiments shared about him in a statement. 'He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw,' she intimated. ADVERTISEMENT WHAT THE ACTOR WAS WORKING ON BEFORE HE DIED For the last few years, he had been placing his efforts on creating a few independent feature films. He was also gearing up to release a book of poetry. The collection entitled Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems was an offering fans were anticipating. In March, he became an ambassador for a cigar brand, a new venture about which he was excited. Madsen is survived by five children. He lost his son, Hudson, to suicide in 2022. This had a hard-hitting effect on the enthralling talent from Chicago, Illinois. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MICHAEL MADSEN FILM? Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
4 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Mbenenge tribunal — expert explains emoji code origin, but not human interpretation
The alternative and deeper meanings humans attribute to emojis were explored at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal hearing for Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge on Thursday. When forensic, legal and linguistic expert Dr Zakeera Docrat testified at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal of Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge in May, her qualifications – a BA Hons (cum laude), a LLB MA (cum laude) and a PHD from Rhodes – were vigorously interrogated by Mbenenge's legal team. At stake that day was the interpretation of emojis sent between Mbenenge and Andiswa Mengo, a court secretary, in a series of messages between June 2021 and November 2022. The 64-year-old Mbenenge has not denied the 'relationship' with Mengo and has remained insistent it was consensual. Tribunal president, retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, has opened a new frontier during this landmark inquisitorial process, including the surgical excavation of the semiotics (meaning) of emojis used by both parties in this matter. In September 2023, a three-judge panel of the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) ruled that there was a prima facie case to be made of gross misconduct against Mbenenge, which, if confirmed, could lead to impeachment. Mengo, 41, lodged the complaint with the JSC in January 2o23. Mbenenge was placed on special leave. The tribunal investigation began in January this year. The communications between the two consisted of WhatsApps using emojis, photographs (some of which were deleted), as well as communication in isiXhosa. When is a peach a peach? When is a peach a peach and an eggplant an eggplant? What does the ear with the hearing aid mean, or the dripping syringe? Back in May, advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, representing Mbenenge, seemed surprised to learn late into her expert testimony that Docrat spoke isiXhosa fluently and was thus able to read and understand the messages she was asked to testify on. Sikhakhane had told Docrat that his team planned to bring their own expert. And so on Wednesday, Dr Vincent Mello, who has a doctorate from Unisa and is a member of the Unicode Consortium, which aims to standardise emoji coding, testified. He said he was an 'independent' operator who worked for various companies, which he declined to name. Unicode, Mello told the tribunal, is what enables a device to select from around 3,600 emojis, and their code, for messaging platforms to facilitate quicker communication. How deep is your love? If Docrat's evidence to the tribunal was 3D in depth, scope and nature, Mello's expertise was code-deep, bottom floor – looking at the architecture that holds the code. Docrat had testified that Mbenenge's use of a banana, peach, eggplant and dripping syringe emojis had 'sexual connotations' and had indicated that he had wanted to be intimate with her. 'This was not a discussion about vegetables,' she replied at some point, concerning the peaches and eggplants. Docrat testified that Mbenenge's advances were, in her opinion, unwanted, and Mengo's responses – often featuring 'hysterical laughing' and 'embarrassed monkey' emojis – were because she did not know how else to react, as he was her boss. Mechanical code Mello methodically and mechanically went through the evidence he had prepared, addressing the technological architectural code involved. He informed the tribunal that he also used Emojipedia as a resource. 'When you type the word 'running', for instance, you will be given the option of choosing an emoji of someone depicted as running,' he said. Later, during cross-examination by evidence leader advocate Salomé Scheepers, Mello was asked to do exactly this on a phone other than his own. When the emoji failed to reflect, he agreed that not all applications or versions allowed for this. He said he had observed the use of emojis on 'approximately' 189 occasions in this matter, including 'rolling on the floor laughing', the 'see no evil monkey', the 'winking face', 'the thinking face', 'the flushed face', 'winking face with tongue', 'squinting face with tongue', 'eyes', 'folded arms', 'raising hands', 'crossed fingers', 'face palm', 'smiling face with halo'… on and on he went, counting each time Mbenenge or Mengo used one. He said Mbenenge had used emojis 97 times while Mengo had done so 69 times. When asked about the peach and the eggplant, which he had not yet highlighted, he replied, 'The peach would be the bum and the eggplant the male private part.' This kind of talk is mild considering some the descriptions that have been put before the tribunal, including that Mbenenge had allegedly also pointed to his erect penis in his trousers on one occasion, allegedly saying, 'You want to suck it?' Mello agreed that he could not testify on the deeper meaning people attached to standardised emojis and that he did not have any forensic legal linguistic expertise to do so. He also acknowledged that he had not published any research that had been peer-reviewed, that anyone could join the Emoji Consortium, and all they had to do was pay a membership fee. He also told the tribunal that he conducted his research out of interest in this bold new technological frontier.
The South African
6 hours ago
- The South African
Court awards R2.2 million to woman blinded by police rubber bullet
The North West High Court in Mahikeng has ordered the Police Ministry to pay R2.2 million in damages to a woman who lost her right eye after police shot her with a rubber bullet. The woman had initially claimed R3.5 million. The incident happened on 11 July 2019 when the woman, then 19 years old, was struck in the eye while doing chores in her yard. Police had responded to nearby civil unrest at the time. According to IOL , at the time of the shooting, the woman was running a growing business selling homemade atchar door to door. Earning about R3 600 a month. The injury resulted in the complete loss of vision in her right eye, which surgeons later removed and replaced with a prosthetic. Since the surgery, the woman has struggled with trauma linked to the prosthetic eye's unnatural appearance and its failure to move in sync with her remaining eye. The court heard that the visible difference in her eyes has drawn unwanted public attention. Additionally, she suffers from mucosal discharge with an unpleasant odour from the prosthesis, worsening her distress and embarrassment. 'The scarring beneath the right eye from the surgery adds to her disfigurement and deepens her emotional discomfort,' the judgment stated. Burdened by her traumatic experience, the woman told the court that the incident had shattered her self-worth and confidence, especially as a young, unmarried woman. She described herself as a naturally extroverted and socially active person before the incident. She also said she now suffers from severe social withdrawal and avoids public spaces. Her claim included compensation for future medical treatment. Covering consultations with ophthalmologists, occupational therapists, and industrial psychologists. Acting Judge Roshiela Titus said, 'It is common cause that the plaintiff has endured pain and suffering, disfigurement, permanent disability and loss of amenities of life. While the first defendant (Minister of Police) has achieved a measure of success in reducing the amount of general damages. The plaintiff is largely successful in this matter, and there is no reason why the normal rule that costs follow the event should not apply.' The final award of R2 205 567 covered general damages, loss of earnings, future medical expenses, assistive devices, and the costs of personal care assistance. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
