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. 

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”.

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