The Judicial Conduct Tribunal during the hearings into the sexual harassment allegations against judge president Selby Mbenege. Image from Facebook: The South African judiciary.
(The Post News)- The judicial conduct tribunal investigating allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge resumed on the morning of May 9, 2025, at the Southern Sun Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Ntomboxolo Brenda Jobela, a colleague of Andiswa Mengo, testified before the conduct tribunal. Image credit: Mail& Guardian
On May 8, 2021, the tribunal heard that Mengo had confided in Jobela about being sexually harassed by a judge she referred to as an “old man, a father figure” who could possibly have children her age. Mbenenge faces the tribunal due to sexual harassment complaints lodged by Mengo, alleging incidents between 2021 and 2022.
The hearing, adjourned since January 24, 2025, resumed on May 5, 2025, with Francois Moller, a digital forensic analyst, testifying that there was no evidence Mbenenge sent Mengo a picture of his private parts. This contradicts Mengo’s earlier testimony. However, on May 6, forensic linguist Dr. Zakeera Docrat revealed that emojis used by Mbenenge had sexual connotations. write caption and headline
Moller told the tribunal he had analysed two cellphones — one belonging to Mbenenge and the other to Mengo. He confirmed the existence of contact between the two, saying Mbenenge had saved her number as “Andy Mengo” while she had stored his as “JP” — standing for judge president.
Moller noted that the actual WhatsApp messages could not be retrieved from the devices using the numbers provided. Mengo’s WhatsApp account was not linked to the SIM card in the Samsung A12 she had submitted for analysis.
Moller speculated that she had used an older number retained for WhatsApp access — a method he’s seen in criminal investigations to evade detection by switching SIM cards while maintaining the app over Wi-Fi.
He confirmed that Mengo’s phone contained 144 screenshots, with metadata showing the first batch was captured in July 2023 and the last in September 2024.
Moller compiled a second forensic report running to 855 pages based on WhatsApp data extracted from Mengo’s separate account, indicating a substantial volume of exchanges with Mbenenge
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