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Daily Maverick
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Chief Justice to visit Mthatha High Court over bribery allegations
The visit follows the submission of an anonymous letter to the acting Eastern Cape judge president, detailing how Mthatha officials allegedly solicit bribes from attorneys before doing routine tasks. South Africa's Chief Justice Mandisa Maya will visit the Mthatha High Court on Tuesday in the wake of allegations that the court's administrative officials demand bribe payments from attorneys of up to R15,000 before processing civil cases before the court. The Office of the Chief Justice, the government department that provides administrative support to South Africa's high courts and judges, confirmed on Friday night that Maya will be briefed in Mthatha by acting Eastern Cape Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela. 'The OCJ appreciates the public interest generated by the perception of impropriety in the Mthatha High Court and is prepared to account fully and transparently to the public on this matter in due course,' it said. It was the department's first acknowledgment of the existence of an anonymous letter of complaint submitted to Nhlangulela and then acting deputy judge president of the Mthatha court, Bantubonke Tokota, in December 2024, and the first indication that Maya was attending to the allegations of corruption contained in the letter. Earlier, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi expressed 'grave concern' over the 'deeply troubling and wholly unacceptable' allegations. Kubayi briefly met Mthatha judges and court manager Mzwabantu Mhlontlo last week following a visit to the family of prosecutor Elona Sombulula, who was shot dead outside his home in Bityi on 29 April. She committed to 'ensuring the integrity of the courts and protecting the rights of all who rely on the justice system', directing officials in her department to work closely with other government officials to verify the allegations and ensure a thorough investigation was carried out. The anonymous letter detailed how Mthatha officials allegedly solicited bribes from attorneys before doing routine tasks such as retrieving supposedly 'missing' case files (for a bribe of R2,000 per file), allocating court dates (a bribe of up to R15,000 per date), transcribing court orders (R5,000) and expediting the taxation of legal costs (R15,000). The letter named nine officials accused of extorting bribes. These officials work in various departments and range from junior typists to senior managers. They included the court's registrar, Babalwa Sidima. Both Maya and the OCJ kept mum for five months about the letter and the allegations it contained. On 5 May Daily Maverick published details of an investigation by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project to corroborate the allegations in the letter, including interviewing more than 20 attorneys and advocates who regularly work in the Mthatha court. The gist of that investigation was that 'blatant' corrupt practices in the Mthatha court went back over two decades, were an open secret and known by 'everyone', although attorneys were unwilling to come forward with formal complaints for fear of being victimised by their colleagues or court officials. Reporters sent a detailed request for comment to the two senior EC judges, and copied it to Maya, the acting superintendent general in the OCJ, advocate Marelize Potgieter, and OCJ spokesperson Lindokuhle Nkomonde. In response the OCJ said it had 'zero tolerance for fraud and corruption' and treated such complaints 'with seriousness, urgency and sensitivity'. But it also warned journalists 'to act in a manner that safeguards the integrity of the processing of legitimate complaints'. Friday night's OCJ statement on Maya's visit to Mthatha reiterated this reference to 'all stakeholders in the fight against fraud and corruption, including the media' safeguarding processes. The statement also revealed that the OCJ had instituted a forensic investigation after receiving the December 2024 anonymous letter and was working closely on the matter with 'relevant law enforcement agencies'. It said that on Tuesday Maya will be briefed by Nhlangulela and will discuss expediting the roll-out of the Court Online system in the division, the OCJ confirmed. Court Online is an electronic system that allows attorneys' firms and litigants to manage court administrative processes in their cases before the court – including the submission of documentation such as affidavits – online. It has been fully implemented in the Gauteng High Court and is being rolled out across the country. In her comments through spokesperson Terence Manase, Kubayi also raised the prospect of the online platform 'reducing opportunities for misconduct', through 'automated court date allocations to help prevent fraudulent practices such as the selling of court dates'. She confirmed that training for Court Online users at the Mthatha High Court would be conducted in the coming weeks. Representative bodies for legal professionals in the Eastern Cape also commented on the corruption allegations. The Mthatha chairperson of the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, Odwa Nyembezi, said that no formal complaints had been brought forward 'but as practising attorneys, we have heard rumours. If this is true, this would delay the justice clients so desperately seek. Practitioners who have been affected should come forward.' Wild Coast Attorneys' Association chairperson Vuyani Msindo agreed that it was impossible to act on rumours: 'As things stand, no one has come forward to say court officials have solicited bribes from them. Our hands are tied because all we have now is hearsay.' The Black Lawyers Association's EC deputy chairperson, Odwa Mgxaji, dismissed the corruption allegations as unfounded, while stating the organisation was 'aware of orders getting delayed and files going missing'. Delays were due to the large number of law firms in Mthatha and the volume of litigation against the Road Accident Fund. 'Act decisively' Academics in the University of the Western Cape's law faculty called on the Legal Practice Council to 'act decisively and institute proceedings where necessary' against attorneys involved in bribery of Mthatha officials. Professors Abraham Hamman and Robert Nanima acknowledged that providing infrastructure and technology to digitise systems was crucial in preventing corruption and ensuring efficiency in the courts. They said 'the only effective way' to address this corruption was 'to hold offenders accountable, whether through disciplinary action or criminal prosecution'. 'Lawyers must refrain from any conduct that involves paying or accepting bribes; such conduct is criminal and violates professional ethics. They must firmly and unequivocally reject any hint of bribery or quid pro quo arrangements. If approached by an official requesting payment for favours, lawyers have a duty to report such behaviour to that person's superiors.' But, the academics said the lack of whistle-blower and witness protection discouraged people from coming forward with information about corruption, and to testify under oath in criminal proceedings before the courts. 'The legal system requires formal charges, affidavits and testimony that can withstand cross-examination. Only when we reach this level of accountability will we be able to successfully prosecute offenders. 'One reason bribery occurs is that individuals believe they can get away with it, and there is a lack of accountability. The slow pace of justice and clogged court rolls create opportunities for unethical shortcuts.' The academics said that while there was 'no clear evidence to suggest that corruption' within the courts was systemic, 'the broader issue of systemic corruption in the country', as highlighted by the State Capture Commission, underpinned corruption by court officials. DM
Daily Maverick
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Mthatha High Court officials solicit bribes to do their jobs, investigation reveals
An investigation by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project has corroborated allegations of systemic corruption at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Mthatha, where court officials solicit bribes – some as high as R15,000 – from attorneys to perform routine administrative functions. Attorneys attempting to perform routine administrative functions at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Mthatha allege that court officials are soliciting bribes – some as high as R15,000 – to do tasks that should be part of their normal jobs. The allegations were first detailed in an anonymous December 2024 letter to the Eastern Cape's Acting Judge President Zamani Nhlangulela and then Acting Deputy Judge President Bantubonke Tokota. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, neither judge responded to our requests for comment, which were first sent via email on 24 March. It is unclear what their response to the December 2024 letter was, and whether they have taken action. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya was copied in our query and her spokesperson, Lindokuhle Nkomonde, acknowledged receipt. He said the 'Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has zero tolerance for fraud and corruption' and that it treats complaints pertaining to these 'with seriousness, urgency and sensitivity'. He did not say, however, what the Chief Justice was doing specifically in response to the complaint against officials from the Mthatha High Court. 'We depend on all stakeholders in the fight against fraud and corruption, including the media, to act in a manner that safeguards the integrity of the processing of legitimate complaints,' he said. Though the complaint letter was penned and sent anonymously, its contents suggest that the author has a working knowledge of the court's processes and of specific staff in key administrative roles there. It was leaked to the reporters by a judge with knowledge of the matter. Its details have not been published before today. The letter alleges that Mthatha High Court officials demand cash bribes from attorneys for tasks that they are already paid to perform as part of their jobs. Many of these tasks are fundamental to the legal process, and withholding them has the potential to harm people who approach the courts for relief in cases as wide ranging as contractual wrangles, wrongful dismissals, unlawful evictions, motor vehicle accidents, medical malpractice, defamation, divorce, unpaid child support or the need for a protection order in domestic abuse cases. According to the letter, the duties being held ransom include: retrieving supposedly 'missing' case files (at a cost of R2,000 per file), allocating court dates (at a cost of up to R15,000 per date), transcribing court orders (R5,000) and expediting the taxation of legal costs (R15,000). The letter named nine officials accused of extorting bribes. These officials work in various departments and range from junior typists to senior managers. They included the court's registrar, Babalwa Sidima. One of the eight officials – a junior typist, named alongside Sidima – has apparently resigned and could not be traced. But, reporters sent WhatsApps and emails to the seven other officials, and asked for their responses to the allegations and to being named in the letter. None responded. Sidima acknowledged our queries. She called to say she and her colleagues were advised not to speak to us, and referred queries to the Office of the Chief Justice. Legal practitioners confirm the corruption Having studied the complaint, reporters with the SA | AJP approached and interviewed 21 attorneys and advocates with regular dealings with the Mthatha High Court, where they represent clients in civil cases. Each one in turn confirmed that they are aware of the alleged racket. 'It is blatant. And it is an open secret. Everyone knows about it,' one attorney said. Some attorneys told us that firms who likely pay bribes can be identified as those who regularly and quickly receive court dates. Well-resourced firms, they said, will pay bribes to secure an advantage in getting cases enrolled. This allegation is also contained in the letter of complaint to the Acting Judge President, which claims that an official working in the court's Case Flow Management office 'will also favour certain firms over others based on their ability to pay them this money. That is why certain firms usually dominate the trial, motion and default rolls.' A cursory examination of Mthatha court rolls suggests that some firms are indeed getting many more court dates than others. We spoke to some attorneys at these firms, but nobody would admit to paying bribes, though they acknowledged that they were aware of a bribery racket operating at the court. Like the letter writer, all the attorneys we spoke to insisted on anonymity. We understood the reticence of practitioners to be named for speaking out on the record on this issue is because of concerns they may be ostracised by their colleagues in the legal profession and even victimised by court officials with the power to withhold court dates in their matters or leave their files unattended. Still, rich details emerged from these interviews. One Mthatha advocate who has represented high-profile clients told us that attorneys instructing him sometimes complain that they are unable to secure dates because officials are soliciting bribes from them. He recalled one attorney who paid a bribe, only to be denied a date again. 'We were still not getting a date,' he said, suspecting that the court official in charge of allocating these dates was holding out for more money. Another advocate recalled the despair of a small-town attorney who was instructing him. When he informed this attorney that the case was not yet ready, and that they would need to seek out a later court date, the attorney became despondent. 'Where will I get another R3,000 to pay for the allocating of the [new] date?' the advocate recalled the attorney asking. Yet, such brazen extortion is rarely reported. A theme that emerged from our interviews is that attorneys are acutely aware of the power that corrupt officials can wield with potential negative impacts for the attorneys' respective practices if they balk at paying the bribe or choose to report it. This may well explain, too, why the author of the letter to the Judge President chose anonymity. 'People are scared of being victimised. They complain in the corridors, but never formally,' one lawyer explained. Decades in the making, but still no action Still, when things get bad enough, there have been instances in past years when attorneys have spoken up. The December letter says the corruption has been happening 'for some time now', but that it recently 'spiralled out of control'. Advocates and attorneys interviewed by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project (SA | AJP) reporters said that some level of corruption and bribery has been part of Mthatha court processes almost for as long as they can remember: as far back as the mid-2000s at least, said one attorney with a long history at the court. That same attorney said his colleague had been solicited for a bribe just the week prior to being interviewed by a reporter. He recalled a specific complaint from attorneys sent to the then-acting judge president in Mthatha, Judge Zweledinga Peko. Back then, the attorneys complained the then-registrar wanted gifts of Squadron Rum before doing crucial tasks that they were already employed to perform. At least two other attorneys we spoke to recalled the complaints about the registrar's 'rum' bribes. One also recalled a specific court official who had a penchant for stealing law books from the court's library to sell to local attorneys at a discount on the retail price. The other said the 'selling' of trial dates at Mthatha High Court has a history reaching back at least two decades. The reporters could find no public record of action against officials, despite this. But, some of the attorneys we interviewed held out hope that the December letter and increased awareness about corruption at the court could see the tide turning. 'Please find a way to sensitise the public that the truth about corruption has been revealed,' a senior court official implored us during an interview. 'The perpetrators will soon face the music,' the official said. Unequal justice Most of the cases being held hostage by allegedly corrupt officials at the Mthatha High Court relate to civil litigation: the letter referred to roles exclusively relevant to civil cases. At Mthatha the load of such cases is particularly heavy compared to other high courts in the Eastern Cape. It handles almost 40% – more than 5,000 such cases – of the province's civil case load annually. Mthatha High Court also serves the largest Eastern Cape district, OR Tambo's 1.5 million people. The civil cases brought to court by attorneys in Mthatha often involve litigants who are among the poorest or most vulnerable people in the province. 'The rot in the system affects members of the public the most. Very often, their livelihoods depend on the orders a court must hand down,' said the advocate whose instructing attorney blamed his inability to secure trial dates on the solicitation of bribes. An East London-based attorney agreed: 'If one party can get a date so quickly, within a couple of months when everybody else must wait for years to get a date … then that's unfair, then justice is not equitable for everybody.' Much of the court's civil case load consists of Road Accident Fund claims. These matters can clog up the court roll and create backlogs and long delays before new cases are given court dates. The scarcity of court dates makes it perfect fodder for a corrupt trade. 'You have to pay bribes if you want to get your matters on the roll,' one attorney said, adding that a trial date in 2025 is considered unattainable – unless you pay. 'Suddenly, you see a document with a [trial] date in May. How is this possible?' he asked, implying that it could only be that a certain attorney had paid a bribe for that date. Several people interviewed noted that junior attorneys are often used as go-betweens for bribes, to shield senior lawyers from implicating themselves. Also, new firms are reportedly targeted more aggressively. 'They're under pressure to build a reputation and finalise cases,' one attorney said. No response We called, spoke or sent queries via WhatsApp and email to eight of the nine officials implicated in the anonymous letter. One of the nine had resigned and could not be traced. Six of the eight did not respond to our emails or WhatsApp messages. Registrar Babalwa Sidima called to say she and her colleagues were advised not to speak to us, and referred queries to the Office of the Chief Justice. One official, Thozamile Semekazi – who was accused in the letter of soliciting bribes for filing documents in the court – initially promised to provide names of corrupt colleagues but failed to follow through. When questioned about his own role, he said: 'Me? I'm shocked… I didn't even know there was an issue of bribes.' Nkomonde, the spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Justice, was invited last week to reconsider his original response to queries, in which he failed to say anything specific about how the Office of the Chief Justice was dealing with the complaints against Mthatha High Court officials. He responded: 'Kindly make use (of) the response previously provided.' DM
