Latest news with #MakhandaHighCourt
IOL News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Controversy unfolds in sexual harassment tribunal involving Judge President Selby Mbenenge
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.
IOL News
29-04-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Court orders car seller to refund dealership for misrepresentation of vehicle model
The Makhanda High Court ruled in favour of a car dealership who was shortchanged after the seller of a 2005 model vehicle sold it as a 2013 model Image: File picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency (ANA) A signed warranty is a contractual statement to which a person is bound, a judge found after the seller of a car sold the vehicle as being a 2013 model to a car dealership, while it later emerged that the vehicle is, in fact, a 2005 model The result was that the dealership paid the seller R60 000 more than what the vehicle was worth. When this was later discovered, the seller refused to pay the money back that he was overpaid with. The Magistrate's Court in East London ruled against Eastern Cape Motors when it turned to court. The magistrate reasoned that the dealership should have established the model of the vehicle before entering into the sale agreement. On appeal, the Eastern Cape High Court sitting in Makhanda said the magistrate was wrong and ordered that the seller, retired police officer Cornelius Wolmerans, must reimburse the R60 000 to the dealership. The dispute centred around a written agreement in which Wolmerans traded his Mitsubishi Pajero, said to be a 2013 model, valued at R140 000, towards the purchase of a Toyota Aygo. The dealership later discovered it was a 2005 model only valued at R80 000. Before this discovery was made, Wolmerans signed a written agreement in terms of which he bought the pre-owned Toyota at a price of R200 739.95 for a simultaneous trade-in of his Mitsubishi Pajero.
