JSC gives Vally benefit of the doubt
The JSC has accepted Judge Bashier Vally’s version that he committed an honest mistake by including non-existing evidence when ruling on a high-profile case between Econ Oil and Eskom.
City Press reports that former Constitutional Court Justice Bess Nkabinde spared Vally the potential humiliation of a misconduct inquiry by dismissing the complaint made against him by Econ Oil, which asked the JSC to charge the judge with wrongdoing.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo requested Nkabinde to look into the complaint submitted to the body by Econ Oil in October last year, following Vally’s admission during a live broadcast interview for a position at the Constitutional Court that he did include a non-existent confirmatory affidavit in his June 2021 ruling in favour of Eskom.
A City Press investigation unearthed a trail of communication between Eskom’s former acting legal head Bartlett Hewu and Eskom’s legal counsel, where the former raised concerns about Vally incorrectly referring to a confirmatory affidavit submitted by him when he did not.
Vally admitted to Zondo and JSC commissioners that he had indeed made the error but insisted that it was insignificant and that it had no bearing on his broader ruling.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
