Suspended KwaZulu-Natal regional court president Eric Nzimande has said payments made into his personal bank accounts by attorneys who were acting as regional magistrates in the regional division were private loans and stokvel payments.
He has argued, through his legal representative Ravindra Maniklall, that the payments were therefore not part of any wrongdoing and not against the Magistrates’ code of conduct.
Nzimande’s disciplinary hearing on 162 charges of misconduct is under way in the Point Branch Court.
Among the charges is that he had received money from attorneys who were acting as regional magistrates in the regional division.
Maniklall, who on Tuesday continued his cross-examination of Magistrate Johannes Meijer from the Magistrate Judicial Quality Assurance Assessment unit, said that Lindelwa Gumede who made the initial complaint did not accuse Nzimande of any wrongdoing in her affidavit.
“She said in her affidavit that she had made a payment of R140000 which was a loan to Nzimande and that he had repaid her an amount of R40000 back. There is no mention that the loan was a favour, a gift or a commission, it was a private loan between two adults.”
Maniklall added that a private loan was not mentioned as a misconduct charge in the Magistrates’ code of conduct.
“There should have been no reason to report this as a criminal matter as there is no evidence of corruption and this is not against the Magistrates’ code of conduct.”
Meijer in response said that he still believed that the activity was suspicious and that he was duty bound to report the matter to the Magistrates Commission and the SAPS.
“In my view I was duty bound to report my recommendations as it was inappropriate for a senior judicial officer to be receiving a large sum of money from a junior judicial officer.
“I also believe that although a private loan, Nzimande being given money as a loan by Gumede can still be considered a favour which is against the code of conduct.”
Maniklall said that another allegation was that Nzimande received payment from a clerk of the court between 2012 and 2016 .
“Ms B Khati, who was a clerk of the court, gave a sworn affidavit that payments she made between 2012 and 2016 totalling R66550 into Nzimande’s bank were in fact payments made to a family stokvel that was owned by Nzimande. Just like private loans there is nothing that prohibits Nzimande from having a private stokvel and it is not misconduct or against the Magistrates’ code of conduct; there was no reason for this matter to have been reported or investigated.”
Maniklall added that Ms C Mazibuko, who also was an acting magistrate in the regional division, had made two payments in 2015 totalling R9000.
She also made a sworn affidavit that she had made payments into Nzimande’s family stokvel.
Maniklall questioned Meijer about the charge sheet and investigations conducted by the police and the Magistrate Commission’s appointed investigators regarding the issues he had raised.
Meijer said he could not answer the questions and that these questions needed to be directed to the investigators and the police.
The hearing is expected to continue on Wednesday.
The Mercury