Two of the country’s nine Regional Court Presidents remain in their posts despite allegations of corruption and fraud levelled last year, according to Rapport. In the case of the KZN incumbent, Eric Nzimande, he is accused of offering an acting job to a magistrate in exchange for cash and even sexual favours. In the other case, the president allegedly claimed R65 000 for travel allowances. Yet she is still serving on the Ethics Committee of the Magistrates' Commission.

Both magistrates frequently act as judges in the High Court, notes Rapport. It says investigators have been asking for a directive to report Nzimande to the police in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) for several months, but their requests appear to have fallen on deaf ears at the Magistrates’ Commission. There has subsequently been a request to report the unnamed president in terms of Precca. The commission’s secretary, Godfrey Ramoroka, confirmed both investigations, but reportedly refused to answer questions about Nzimande’s case as he claimed it was ‘sub judice’.

The allegations against Nzimande are contained in an affidavit from former Acting Regional Magistrate Thinake Lindelwa Gumede, who submitted her complaint on the last day of her three-year acting stint on 30 June last year. According Rapport, she provided bank statements to show how she allegedly had to pay and ‘loan’ money to Nzimande under threat that he would not have her contract renewed. The first payment was made only weeks after he allegedly approached her in the District Court for a new acting position in the Regional Court. According to Gumede, she has recordings and e-mails to back her claims.

She also claims she was forced to sit on Nzimande’s lap when he suggested a sexual relationship. Gumede says many of her ex-colleagues have similar complaints. Nzimande responded to the claims last year, saying he was ‘shocked’ and therefore unable to comment immediately. Asked for comment last week, he reportedly told Rapport he could not comment due to a pending investigation. The investigators – Johannesburg Chief Magistrate Eddie Mashile and Magistrate Theresa Swart from Germiston – asked for permission in May to approach the police. They attached a laptop, which they want the police to access. Despite the fact that the Magistrates’ Commission met at the end of May and again in August, the investigators have received no feedback and the minutes of those meetings make no mention of any discussion about their urgent request for a directive.

Full report in Rapport