Zintle Nkqayi's testimony sheds light on sexual harassment allegations against Judge President Mbenenge
Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal
Judges' Secretary Zintle Nkqayi will enter her third day of testimony on Thursday before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal against judge president Selby Mbenenge who faces sexual harassment charges.
Nkqayi, who first worked as a stenographer in Bisho before being transferred to work as Mbenenge's secretary from 2020, is the first witness called by JP Mbenenge's legal team.
During cross examination on Wednesday, Nkqayi spoke of a hugging incident, where sexual harassment complainant Andiswa Mengo is alleged to have seen JP Mbenenge hugging a court manager in his chambers on 28 May 2021, saying that it 'could be something that is not true'.
According to Nkqayi's testimony, when questioned by advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, she affirmed that it could have happened that Mengo witnessed the hugging incident when she 'popped her head in the office'.
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The Tribunal also heard that Nkqayi left her job as a secretary in April this year due to a toxic work environment following JP Mbenenge's departure. According to Nkqayi, she made the decision to leave her job owing to ill-treatment at the office which could result in her becoming depressed and potentially ending up in a mental institution and she made the choice to leave 'before it came to that point'.
Nkqayi, undergoing cross examination by senior state Advocate Salomé Scheepers, evidence leader for the Tribunal, was grilled about her meticulous recollection of 14 November 2021. Nkqayi said she had noted the events in her diary and 'from memory, my memory is fine'.
The date relates to the day Mengo alleged she was in JP Mbenenge's office, where he made a sexual harassment advance to her, asking her to perform oral sex on him in his chambers. According to Mengo, JP Mbenenge told her to look at the effect she has on him and showed her his genitalia. It is Mengo's version that she then declined and left the JP's chambers.
This week, Tribunal chairperson, retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, denied the application brought by Nasreen Rajab-Budlender on behalf of her client Mengo to question the witnesses set to be brought by JP Mbenenge's legal counsel. JP Mbenenge will be one of the four witnesses to state his case at the Tribunal.
Cross-examination by evidence leader Scheepers will continue tomorrow.
chevon.booysen@inl.co.za
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Mail & Guardian
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Eastern Cape judge president, Selby Mbenenge. (Judges Matter) 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.
IOL News
11 hours ago
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Zintle Nkqayi's testimony sheds light on sexual harassment allegations against Judge President Mbenenge
Judges' Secretary Zintle Nkqayi will enter her third day of testimony on Thursday before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal against judge president Selby Mbenenge, who faces sexual harassment charges. Image: Supplied / Judicial Conduct Tribunal Judges' Secretary Zintle Nkqayi will enter her third day of testimony on Thursday before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal against judge president Selby Mbenenge who faces sexual harassment charges. Nkqayi, who first worked as a stenographer in Bisho before being transferred to work as Mbenenge's secretary from 2020, is the first witness called by JP Mbenenge's legal team. During cross examination on Wednesday, Nkqayi spoke of a hugging incident, where sexual harassment complainant Andiswa Mengo is alleged to have seen JP Mbenenge hugging a court manager in his chambers on 28 May 2021, saying that it 'could be something that is not true'. According to Nkqayi's testimony, when questioned by advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, she affirmed that it could have happened that Mengo witnessed the hugging incident when she 'popped her head in the office'. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ The Tribunal also heard that Nkqayi left her job as a secretary in April this year due to a toxic work environment following JP Mbenenge's departure. According to Nkqayi, she made the decision to leave her job owing to ill-treatment at the office which could result in her becoming depressed and potentially ending up in a mental institution and she made the choice to leave 'before it came to that point'. Nkqayi, undergoing cross examination by senior state Advocate Salomé Scheepers, evidence leader for the Tribunal, was grilled about her meticulous recollection of 14 November 2021. Nkqayi said she had noted the events in her diary and 'from memory, my memory is fine'. The date relates to the day Mengo alleged she was in JP Mbenenge's office, where he made a sexual harassment advance to her, asking her to perform oral sex on him in his chambers. According to Mengo, JP Mbenenge told her to look at the effect she has on him and showed her his genitalia. It is Mengo's version that she then declined and left the JP's chambers. This week, Tribunal chairperson, retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, denied the application brought by Nasreen Rajab-Budlender on behalf of her client Mengo to question the witnesses set to be brought by JP Mbenenge's legal counsel. JP Mbenenge will be one of the four witnesses to state his case at the Tribunal. Cross-examination by evidence leader Scheepers will continue tomorrow.
Daily Maverick
12 hours ago
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Mbenenge referred to female staff as ‘big girls', ‘children', often commenting on their appearance, tribunal hears
On Wednesday, 2 July 2025, giving evidence in favour of Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge, who is accused of sexual harassment by court secretary Andiswa Mengo, was fellow court secretary Zintle Nkqayi. Nkqayi — who later unexpectedly revealed she had left the division in April 2025 as she feared she would end up in a 'mental institution' because of 'depression' — testified that the judge president was in the habit of addressing female staff as 'big girls' and 'children'. Nkqayi, who first worked as a stenographer in Bisho before being transferred to work as Mbenenge's secretary from 2020, said the judge president also regularly commented on women's appearance. Asked by Mbenenge's legal representative, advocate Griffiths Madonsela, whether this was 'unusual', Nkqayi replied 'he did this to everyone' and that this was merely his characteristic way of interacting with staff. It is not clear whether 'everyone' included young men or men who worked under Mbenenge in the division. No questions Late on Tuesday, after the announcement by advocate Muzi Sikhakhane that his client, Mbenenge, would be testifying after evidence by two court secretaries, the tribunal chairperson, retired Gauteng judge president Bernard Ngoepe, ruled there would be no cross-examination of Nkqayi by Mengo's legal team. Mbenenge has not denied the relationship with Mengo and has insisted it was consensual. However, this week renowned gender-based violence and sexual harassment expert Lisa Vetten testified as an expert witness and concluded from the 47 conversations that had taken place that the relationship had been coercive and unwanted. Mbenenge, she said, had not been able to take 'no' for an answer. Later, Sikhakhane suggested that Vetten had been unable to grasp the isiXhosa 'cultural' nature of the judge president's 'courting'. Vetten had earlier testified that labour laws governing the workplace sought precisely to prevent the kind of blurring of boundaries between those in power and those who were not. She said that should a relationship occur within a workplace, it had to be declared so as to prevent a spiralling of possible resentments among other employees with regard to favouritism and various other perks. Nkqayi's surprise admission that she had left the division as she had feared for her mental health resulted in Ngoepe calling for a break and for the evidence leader, Salomé Scheepers, to consult with Mengo and Mbenenge's teams. 'Girls and their moods' On Wednesday, the tribunal heard that Nkqayi was in her office one morning when a Ms Gugushe, also a secretary, popped in around teatime. Mbenenge exited his office and stood in the doorway interlinking their offices. 'Ms Mengo was passing by whilst the judge president was having a conversation with Ms Gugushe, asking how she was.' Mengo had passed by and greeted them all, but Mbenenge called her back. 'He said to her, 'What is this, big girl? Why are you wearing a curtain today?' and he went further to say, 'Do you see how other children are, they are dressed well.'' The judge president had been referring to Nkqayi and Gugushe. Missing evidence Earlier in the year, the tribunal heard that crucial CCTV footage, which would back the claim by Mengo that Mbenenge had summoned her to his office on 15 November 2022 and had asked her for oral sex, had gone missing. Prabagaran Naidoo, the director of facilities and security at the Office of the Chief Justice, previously entered the footage into the tribunal. He was unable to explain, however, how footage from the date that Mengo claimed Mbenenge had 'pointed to his erection in his trousers' was missing. Naidoo testified that he had been contacted by the Mthatha court manager in either November or December 2022 and had been told that 'a senior judge' had requested to view the CCTV footage. This he had been allowed to do by the control room operator. However, as it might be required in future, Naidoo instructed that the footage be downloaded onto a computer hard drive before it was overwritten. It was almost a year later, in October 2023, that he had instructed this to be transferred to a memory stick and couriered to his office. The memory stick contained footage from 14 and 16 November, but that of 15 November was 'missing'. Asked by Mengo's legal representative, advocate Nasreen Rajab-Budlender, what had happened to the 15 November footage, Naidoo replied: 'I can't say.' Rajab-Budlender, at the time, was on record as saying that the judge who had viewed the footage was Bantubonke Tokota, who had made a statement about this. 'Judge Tokota says he viewed footage from 14 and 15 November. He said there was nothing worth mentioning about the 14th because it had nothing to do with the rumours regarding the 15th. 'On the 15th, he saw Mbenenge arrive and leave chambers with his bag. He said there was no sign of Mengo entering his chambers. But we have not seen that today,' she said. Judge Tokota had not followed protocol in requesting access to the footage through the court manager, Naidoo confirmed. The tribunal continues. DM
