Mbenenge Tribunal: No Cellphone Messages Found Between Judge President and Complainant, SA Divided

• Mfanelo Selby Mbenenge is facing a misconduct investigation after his secretary laid a sexual harassment complaint against him
• Andiswa Mengo claimed that the Eastern Cape Judge President sent her explicit photos and inappropriate text messages
• A cellphone expert stated that there was no trace of any messages sent to Mengo's device from Mbenenge's phone

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

GAUTENG – A cellphone expert is the latest witness to take to the stand in the ongoing Judicial Conduct Tribunal against Mfanelo Selby Mbenenge.

Mbenenge, the Eastern Cape Judge President, is facing a misconduct investigation after his secretary laid a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Andiswa Mengo complained of in-person and electronic interactions of a sexual nature between her and Mbenenge between June 2021 and November 2022. She claimed that the interactions were unwelcomed by her.

Cellphone expert can’t confirm if Mbenenge sent explicit photos

In her complaint, Mengo claimed that the Judge President sent her a picture of his private parts, which she then submitted as evidence.

Mbenenge denied doing so, and cellphone expert Francois Möller said there were no matches for the time Mengo claimed she received the photo from the Judge President.

“At the time of my investigation, that message was not there. I did not find any messages on Mbenenge’s cellphone,” he said.

He was also asked by Advocate Griffiths Madonsela, who is representing Mbenenge, whether the photo of the private part could have come from Mbenenge. He added that it was difficult to say so because the photo was a screenshot.

“The problem I had with this picture was that it doesn’t have a date and time. Maybe it was cropped, but I cannot conclude that it was a screenshot or a WhatsApp message,” he said.

Madonsela then asked if cropping the photo amounted to manipulating it.

“Yes. Because when you crop a picture, you’re editing it,” Möller explained.

855 messages found on Mengo’s phone

Möller also stated that there was no communication found in Mbenenge’s cellphone between him and Mengo, but there were 855 messages on hers. The messages were between the number that she used and a number reportedly belonging to the Judge President. With this, Möller compiled a 433-page report for the tribunal, but cautioned that it wasn’t proof as to who was sending the messages.

“We just cannot tell for a fact that it was a certain individual who was sending the messages,” he stated.

Mbenenge is not the only controversial Judge President. In February 2024, Dr John Hlope was impeached after he was accused of trying to influence the court.

The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party member later resigned from the Judiciary Services Commission.

South Africans divided by the latest developments

Social media users weighed in on the latest developments in the case, with some showing support for Mbenenge and others accusing him of deleting the messages.

Lubabalo Sanqela Foundation said:

“Nice one, Judge President. We are 100% behind you.”

Mpho Koaho-Mtila claimed:

“He got himself an IT guru to hack the internet communication systems between him and this lady and permanently delete everything.”

Fikile Sibiya asked:

“Mara Andiswa's phone has messages communicating with him. How?”

Roy Bennet Roy Bennet said:

“He deleted his information moes."

Frank Stobber added:

“That’s what we’ve all been saying, gold digger tactics.”

Mpho Koaho-Mtila noted:

“Hackers and scammers are capable of deleting everything between you and them so that you may have no recourse.”

MK Party member accuses former Judge President of sexual harassment

In a related article, MK Party Deputy President, Dr John Hlophe, was accused of sexual harassment.

Briefly News reported that Mpumalanga convener Mary Phadi made the complaint against the former Judge President of the Western Cape.

Phadi reportedly wrote a letter to party president Jacob Zuma to inform him that Hlophe tried his luck with her in August 2024.

Source: Briefly News