Eastern Cape High Court Judge President Selby Mbenenge faces sexual misconduct allegations before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal. File Picture: Thobile Mathonsi / Independent Newspapers
Detailing at least two WhatsApp conversations, the judge’s clerk who has accused Eastern Cape High Court Judge President Selby Mbenenge of sexual harassment, said her message which read as “foreplay kindles” was not her asking foreplay from him.
On Friday, in the continuation of the hearing by the Judicial Conduct Tribunal, sexual harassment complainant Andiswa Mengo, again became emotional as evidence leader Salome Scheepers asked her about pictures Mbenenge had sent to her on the messaging platform.
Mengo said she had been “annoyed” by Mbenenge’s requests for explicit pictures and his not accepting her refusal of such requests.
“He would continue sending messages. He did not stop,” said Mengo.
Referring to a message exchange in which Mengo wrote to Mbenenge, Scheepers asked Mengo why she had asked him “when you run out of sleep, please write about GBV for me…pretty please.”
Mengo submitted: “It was the annoyance of being asked the same thing over and over. He sent hearts and he expected (me) to respond by sending me pictures of the penis. It was just very much annoying.”
Scheepers, however, probed her further on this issue during which Mengo revealed she had “wanted his opinion on GBV particularly the abuse of women and children”.
“I wanted to make him aware that these messages that he is sending me, I do not like them,” said Mengo.
During the same chat exchange, Mbenenge responded and said he was “totally opposed to GBV”.
During further questioning, Mengo revealed that she “needed help with an assignment” related to GBV and had asked Mbenenge for his help with an introduction for her assignment.
Earlier this week, Mengo told the tribunal that she felt like he was sexually grooming her when he tried to solicit pictures from her and sent her explicit pictures during late-night conversations.
Proceedings had to be adjourned for a tea break when Mengo became emotional and cried after she was shown a picture that was sent to her by Mbenenge. Scheepers described the picture as a “half-naked woman”.
Scheepers asked Mengo how the picture made her feel.
Mengo replied: “I felt naked. My emotions were torn. I wanted to tell him that the pictures he had sent me are putting me under a lot of stress.”
Mengo further detailed sexual connotation exchanges on WhatsApp with Mbenenge where in one exchange, he had sent her a collage with “sexual positions” and after receiving the collage, Mengo replied, “it’s nice”.
Probed about her response to Mbenenge, Mengo said she replied in such a way because she “did not know what to say to him and I responded in that way so that it would be pleasing to him”.
According to Mengo, when she had responded in such a manner, it would please Mbenenge but she “did not mean it”.
Mengo further submitted that her responses to Mbenenge about the type of sexual styles she liked and being asked about her preference for the length of male private parts, Mengo submitted that her responses to him were because she was “fed up and being sarcastic”.
In another exchange, after she communicated that she was booked off-sick, Mbenenge had asked her, “What are you going to do with a rough ride?”
“I am going to pass it once I am myself,” Mengo said in her reply.
According to Mengo, she was able to keep the message despite Mbenenge having deleted it after she read it.
Proceedings adjourned at lunchtime on Friday to Monday due to the translator communicating that her brain was tired and was losing her voice.
chevon.booysen@inl.co.za
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