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Mail & Guardian
06-05-2025
- Mail & Guardian
Tribunal hears forensic proof of WhatsApp communication in Mbenenge sexual harassment case
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. (Nelius Rademan/ Foto24/Gallo Images) The Judicial Conduct Tribunal resumed its inquiry into Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge on Monday, with damning testimony from a digital forensic expert confirming phone-based communication between the judge and his accuser, court secretary Andiswa Mengo. Mbenenge is accused of sexually harassing Mengo, who works at the Makhanda high court. She alleges both in-person advances and electronic harassment, including sexually explicit WhatsApp messages sent by the judge. Monday's hearing marked the continuation of She told the tribunal the power imbalance between her and Mbenenge's legal team has Digital forensic specialist Francois Moller told the tribunal he had analysed two cellphones — one belonging to Mbenenge and the other to Mengo. He confirmed the existence of contact between the two, saying Mbenenge had saved her number as 'Andy Mengo' while she had stored his as 'JP' — standing for judge president. Moller noted that the actual WhatsApp messages could not be retrieved from the devices using the numbers provided. Mengo's WhatsApp account was not linked to the SIM card in the Samsung A12 she had submitted for analysis. Moller speculated that she had used an older number retained for WhatsApp access — a method he's seen in criminal investigations to evade detection by switching SIM cards while maintaining the app over wi-fi. He confirmed that Mengo's phone contained 144 screenshots, with metadata showing the first batch was captured in July 2023 and the last in September 2024. Moller compiled a second forensic report running to 855 pages based on WhatsApp data extracted from Mengo's separate account, indicating a substantial volume of exchanges with Mbenenge. Brenda Madumise, director of Wise4Afrika, cautioned against reducing the tribunal's scope to a technical analysis of digital records. 'The exchanges have already been established. What's important is determining at what point the complainant felt uncomfortable,' she told the Mail & Guardian . She said the defence's argument — that the messages were consensual — seeks to deflect from the core issue of whether Mbenenge's conduct constitutes gross misconduct, a finding that could trigger impeachment proceedings. While confirming some aspects of the text exchange with the complainant, Mbenenge's legal counsel The tribunal, now in its fourth phase, will next assess the authenticity and tone of the messages before submitting a report to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The JSC will then decide whether to recommend Mbenenge's impeachment to parliament or to dismiss the complaint. Following the initial hearings in January, the 'We do not believe that in the case of Judge President Mbenenge the JSC was acting consistently with its own decade-long practice of recommending suspension immediately when a tribunal is appointed,' said Mbekezeli Benjamin, the organisation's research and advocacy officer. Benjamin said while it's too early to tell if Monday's forensic testimony weakens the complainant's case, the broader concern lies in how the JSC has handled the matter. 'Suspension isn't punitive — it's about safeguarding judicial integrity and ensuring the judge can fully respond to the allegations.' The case is the first known instance in South Africa of a judge president facing a sexual harassment inquiry. As the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Eastern Cape, Mbenenge's conduct has far-reaching implications for public trust in the judiciary. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya is Benjamin said the policy developments are positive but insufficient without consistent application. 'Efforts are ongoing to improve judicial efficiency through the National Efficiency Enhancement Committee but clearly this is not enough.' The tribunal is set to continue until 15 May, with Mbenenge expected to testify before it concludes.
IOL News
05-05-2025
- IOL News
Mengo vs Mbenenge: Landmark sexual harassment case in South Africa's judiciary resumes
Digital forensic investigator and data analyst, Francois Möller, gave evidence at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal Hearing on sexual harassments complaints against Judge President Selby Mbenenge. Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal Proceedings in the Judicial Conduct Tribunal on the complaint lodged by Andiswa Mengo against Judge President Selby Mbenenge resumed on Monday. JP Mbenenge presides at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court and was accused by Mengo - a judge's clerk - of sexual harassment, in which she alleges several disturbing communications from Mbenenge. The first witness called on Monday, Francois Möller, gave evidence at the Tribunal hearing, and it related to forensic data retrieved from two cellphone devices - a Samsung S20 and a Samsung A12 - each belonging to JP Mbenenge and Mengo, respectively. Möller is a digital forensic investigator and data analyst. His qualifications were not disputed by Mengo's counsel and panellists. Möller confirmed that he did a logical extraction of information from both devices, which included calls, contact information, media files, messages, and locations. He said that in the logical extraction of information from Mbenenge's device, they were able to retrieve 95 deleted messages, but he confirmed that these messages did not relate to this matter. On Mengo's device, Möller confirmed that they retrieved 275 deleted entries. According to Möller, after a specific data download was conducted on both devices, 855 chat messages were retrieved and specifying that these messages were exchanged between Mbenenge and Mengo. Andiswa Mengo during the tribunal against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. Image: Office of the Chief Justice / N Mabusela Möller confirmed that his forensic report resulted in a 433-page report which was extracted from the specific download. Evidence leader in the tribunal, Advocate Salome Scheepers, pointed Möller to several screenshots of pictures and conversations sent between the devices of Mengo and Mbenenge. Further, in relation to two WhatsApp stickers sent to Mengo, which Mengo claimed were sent to her by Mbenenge, Möller said due to the stickers being deleted by Mbenenge before Mengo could make a screenshot of the conversation, it could not be ascertained from which sender the stickers were received, although the stickers were saved in the WhatsApp sticker gallery. Counsel for Mbenenge, Griffits Madonsela SC, probed Möller about the private part picture that Mengo said she had received from the Judge President. Möller confirmed that the graphic picture had a timestamp of 09.05; however, 'there were not enough features' on the picture to conclude whether the picture was a screenshot or a WhatsApp message she received. This was because a search for messages between the devices showed no results. According to Möller, the information could not be retrieved through a forensic extraction from Mengo's device and could not be correlated with Mbenenge's device, as he could only perform a logical extraction from Mbenenge's device. The software used for extraction did not support a forensic extraction on Mbenenge's device, which limited their correlation efforts for WhatsApp conversations between the two devices. Mengo's counsel had no questions for Möller on Monday. Judge President Selby Mbenenge presides at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court and was accused by Andiswa Mengo of sexual harassment. Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal Judges Matter said systems designed to address misconduct in the judiciary are not working effectively and said sexual harassment complaints need to be dealt with swiftly and sensitively, with a victim-centred approach. 'More often than not, perpetrators of sexual harassment are persons in positions of power. The complaint against Judge President Mbenenge is a classic example of this fact. The testimony given by Mengo was to the effect that she feared that if she spoke out against Judge President Mbenenge, she would lose her job. 'The power imbalances pose many difficulties for those faced with sexual harassment in the workplace... This will mark the first time in South Africa's history that not only a judge but also a Judge President will testify regarding allegations of sexual harassment made against him. It will be interesting to hear the Judge President's version of events, considering the extensive detail Mengo's testimony provided. "The allegations of sexual harassment against Mbenenge surfaced in January 2023. It is now almost mid-2025, and the complaint brought by Mengo is yet to be finalised. It is taking the judiciary almost three years to deal with a sexual harassment complaint. The fact that it is the first time a Judicial Conduct Tribunal is convened in relation to a sexual harassment complaint does not warrant such a lengthy delay in bringing the complaint to finality,' Judges Matter wrote. Representing Mengo, Women's Legal Centre, said the Tribunal 'is exposing the scale of sexual harassment in our legal system, the silence it's built on, and the power that protects perpetrators'. The Tribunal is expected to run until May 16. [email protected]
