Judge Selby Mbenenge's former secretary says he was at the bank during alleged flashing incident
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge's former secretary, Zintle Nkqayi, on Wednesday corroborated his denial that he
Mengo, the former clerk of another judge in the division,
In
Mbenenge has
Nkqayi worked as Mbenenge's secretary from 2020 until she resigned in April 2025, citing bad treatment by colleagues who supported Mengo.
Questioned by Mbenenge's counsel, Griffiths Madonsela, who focused on 14 November 2021, the day the alleged indecent exposure took place, Nkqayi testified that the judge president had gone to the bank at the time of the alleged incident and had lawyers waiting for him at his chambers for a consultation.
She said she never left her desk and did not see any flashing, adding that when Mbenenge returned from the bank, she accompanied him to deliver a lecture to students and then they went to court.
Madonsela also questioned Nkqayi about an incident that allegedly occurred on 28 May 2021 at the high court in Makhanda, where Mbenenge is said to have hugged the court manager in his chambers.
According to Mengo, she had gone to the judge president's office to make a complaint about the court manager before leaving. She says she then returned shortly after, and saw Mbenenge hugging the court manager.
Nkqayi testified that on that date, Mengo asked to see the judge president and afterwards he met the court manager and the court registrar, but the hugging incident did not take place.
Nkqayi disputed Mengo's claim that she was the last person to leave Mbenenge's office, stating that Mengo left in the morning after she complained about the court manager.
In another incident alleged to have happened at the high court in Mthatha, Mengo alleges that she walked past Mbenenge's office and was subjected to inappropriate remarks..
In her testimony about the incident, Nkqayi said Mbenenge commented about Mengo's dressing in a joking manner, asking her: 'What is it, big girl? Why are you wearing a curtain today? Do you see how other children are dressed?'
According to Nkqayi, Mengo responded that she would not be in court that day but would instead be working on appeals, before walking off.
Asked by Madonsela whether such conversations were unusual, Nkqayi said Mbenenge usually made remarks about how people were doing and whether they were dressed appropriately.
Nkqayi said she could no longer continue working at the court after the judge president left, citing bad treatment. She said the pressure and depression led her to the brink of admission to a mental institution. She decided to stay at home to avoid worsening her mental health.
Counsel for the complainant, Rajab-Budlender, had requested permission to cross-examine Mbenenge and his witnesses, but
Scheepers asked Nkqayi how she could remember conversations that happened three years ago when nothing significant happened, to which the witness responded that she consulted her diary and the meetings involved the court manager.
The evidence leader queried whether Nkqayi was at her desk the entire day, suggesting there may have been moments when the court manager could have entered Mbenenge's office when Mengo returned and saw them hugging.
Madonsela interjected and read Mengo's affidavit where she said that Nkqayi was at her desk when she went into Mbenenge's office and saw the hugging incident. Scheepers conceded that this detail in Mengo's affidavit differed from her testimony at the tribunal that Nkqayi was not at her desk.
Ngoepe said Scheepers should present both versions of Mengo's statements to Nkqayi instead of choosing just one.
Mbenenge is expected to testify before the tribunal concludes on 11 July.
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11 hours ago
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Judge president's emoji expert disputes accusers's claims
Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. (Nelius Rademan/ Foto24/Gallo Images) A defence witness told a judicial tribunal on Thursday that emojis exchanged in WhatsApp messages between Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge and a junior legal professional were consistent with casual conversation, challenging claims that they were used to Information and communications technology expert Vincent Mello testified that the messages — central to a misconduct inquiry against Mbenenge — reflected standard emoji use, citing references from Unicode Consortium and Emojipedia. His analysis countered previous expert evidence which suggested the symbols were deployed with sexualised intent. Mello was called by Mbenenge's legal team to analyse disputed WhatsApp messages between the judge president and legal professional Andiswa Mengo, who has accused him of sending inappropriate messages of a sexual nature over WhatsApp. During the second sitting in May, linguistics specialist Zakeera Docrat testified that emojis had been used for non-standard purposes to depict sexual acts and as a means to sexually harass. Mello told the tribunal that his interpretation revealed the contrary and said his findings relied on the Unicode Consortium standards and Emojipedia, an online reference site that catalogues emoji definitions. His testimony suggested that the tone of the conversation was This contrasts with Mengo's own testimony, in which she described persistent late-night messages, requests for photos and a sense of pressure due to Mbenenge's powerful position. She said his messages were unwanted and inappropriate but she felt unable to challenge him. Under cross-examination by Mbenenge's counsel, Griffiths Madonsela, Mello said that in his analysis of the WhatsApp exchanges, he counted 189 emoji used — 97 by Mbenenge and 69 by Mengo. He told the tribunal that the 'rolling on the floor laughing' emoji was used 27 times by Mbenenge and 28 times by Mengo. The 'see-no-evil monkey' emoji was used 24 times by Mbenenge and 20 times by Mengo. The 'winking face' was used twice by Mbenenge and once by Mengo. Other emojis in the messages included the 'thinking face' and 'face with tongue' — both used by Mbenenge — and the 'flushed face' and 'squinting face with tongue' used by Mengo. Mello interpreted these emojis as casual and in line with standard use. He also noted the use of the 'peach' and 'eggplant' emojis — widely regarded as suggestive symbols for buttocks and male genitalia, respectively — while notable, could not be attributed any specific intent. Mello further testified that a portion of the WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two — from 22 June to 8 July 2021 — was missing from the record, making the communication incomplete. He suggested that the missing messages raised questions about the integrity of the evidence. The WhatsApp messages have been a central feature in the case, which has grappled with interpreting the tone and content of the digital exchanges between Mbenenge and Mengo. In May, digital forensic analyst François Muller, However, Mello told the tribunal that he had only examined data extracted from one of the phones — the one provided to him by Mbenenge's legal team — and not the full set of data Muller had reviewed. This drew criticism from evidence leader Salome Scheepers, who questioned whether Mello's opinion was informed by a complete dataset. Scheepers also challenged Mello's qualifications, arguing that he lacked the forensic and linguistic expertise necessary to interpret digital evidence, specifically the contextual nuances of emoji use. In May, Docrat warned that emojis were not neutral symbols and could vary in meaning depending on the recipient's interpretation, the platform and the interpersonal history between the communicators. Scheepers drew on Docrat's earlier testimony to argue that Mello's approach — which focused on Unicode definitions — was too narrow. She pressed Mello on the variability of emoji meanings across different devices and social contexts, noting that the same emoji could convey different messages, depending on the relationship between the users. Scheepers further said some emojis, such as the 'see-no-evil monkey', could be interpreted flirtatiously — an interpretation not captured by standard references nor by Mello's interpretation. 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Her testimony was supported by screenshots and messages, although she admitted under cross-examination that some conversations had continued beyond the alleged incidents. The defence has argued that Mengo's continued engagement with the judge — with light-hearted emojis and informal language — contradicts her claims of persistent harassment. The defence said Mengo had reciprocated with messages that reflected a cordial relationship. Strengthening the defence's case, Mbenenge's witness, former secretary Zintle Nkqayi, The tribunal is expected to conclude on 11 July, before which Mbenenge will take the witness stand.
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Unathi Sogoni, a stenographer at the Makhanda High Court and former friend of sexual harassment complainant Andiswa Mengo, was the third witness brought by Judge President Selby Mbenenge's counsel. Image: Supplied /Judicial Conduct Tribunal Controversy appeared to be the launching point before the third witness in the sexual harassment tribunal hearing against Judge President Selby Mbenenge continued on Friday. Unathi Sogoni, a stenographer at the Makhanda High Court and a former friend of complainant Andiswa Mengo, is the third witness brought by Mbenenge's counsel. Before she could start her testimony, advocate Griffiths Madonsela asked the permission of the Judicial Conduct Tribunal chairperson - retired judge Bernard Ngoepe - to deal with a matter separate from the merits of Mengo's case before the Tribunal. Ngoepe and the panel dealt with the issue related to an incident on June 2, where Mengo received death threats. Last month, Mengo received a handwritten note left at her desk at court on Friday, in which it was said, 'a bullet is waiting for you'. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ngoepe shot down Mbenenge's counsel's attempt to lead evidence or introduce elements to the tribunal regarding the June incident. Mengo has levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Mbenenge, which include WhatsApp conversations and untoward face-to-face commentary and interactions. On Friday, arguing for the testimony of Sogoni to be heard, Madonsela submitted that the witness's evidence is relevant and he intended to lead her evidence in respect solely on the aspect of power relationships between judges and secretaries. He attributed the calling of Sogoni as a witness due to the previous witness, Lisa Vetten, 'being called very late in the day'. 'When all other witnesses had already testified, (then) her summary was only provided to us. We had no way of knowing that the issue of power relations would arise. Nowhere, any time before did the complainant testify… so we could not have put that version,' argued Madonsela. Prudently asked for clarity by the panel if power dynamics were the only issue that Sogoni would be led on, Madonsela responded in the affirmative. Evidence leader Salome Scheepers, however, objected to this, saying that the paragraphs Madonsela said he intended to canvass evidence on are irrelevant. 'I am of the view that it is not relevant. These lines here are completely different from what the case is before us. It's not placed before us here that the complainant is a seducer. Nothing like that was ever led or put to the complainant,' said Scheepers. In part echoing the objection, advocate Nasreen Rajab-Budlender for Mengo, said the over-simplification of Vetten's evidence was 'concerning'. 'Vetten is an expert on gender. Sogoni is not an expert. She is not an expert on gender, she is not an expert on power imbalance. This panel does not need to know about power dynamics from someone who we know has a fractious relationship with the complainant. 'I submit that you have already heard evidence that deals with power imbalance, and you dealt with that. You heard that the respondent's concern was to place evidence before this tribunal that concerned the relationships between judges and secretaries. You already had three witnesses come and tell you about that, who are actually secretaries. Sogoni is not a secretary; she is a stenographer,' said Rajab-Budlender. She further argued that if Mengo were to be recalled, as was suggested, Rajab-Budlender said she held the opinion that there were many times she felt that Mengo should be recalled. 'There were many things that were not put to the complainant, and if this complainant is recalled, then I submit that she must be asked about all of those things and she must be given an opportunity to contradict that,' said Rajab-Budlender.
