JCC probes bribery claim against acting judge
The Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) is investigating allegations that an acting Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) judge solicited and received a R5 000 bribe to swing a leave to appeal appeal ruling in favour of an applicant, reports The Citizen.
SCA Judge Halima Saldulker has been appointed to probe the allegations against Acting Judge Samuel Makamu in a complaint lodged by businessman and lawyer Bouwe Wiersma in August last year.
Sanelisiwe Mthombeni from the Office of the Chief Justice informed the complainant in a letter dated 23 December, that she had been directed by Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo to advise him that ‘Justice Saldulker has been designated to determine the merits of the complaint…’
According to the complaint to the JSC, Wiersma alleges that the judge had initially requested R7 000 to grant leave to appeal an eviction order. WhatsApp messages and bank records submitted as evidence allegedly show a payment to an account held by the judge’s nephew.
Wiersma claimed that despite the payment, the judge dismissed the application with costs and that he paid to ‘entrap the judge and expose corruption within the judiciary’.
Detailing the chronological flow of events leading to the alleged bribery, Wiersma said on 6 August last year, two days after he had been slapped with an eviction order, he received a call from an individual claiming to be calling from Makamu’s office.
The individual, who identified themself as the judge’s secretary, allegedly offered to grant leave to appeal the eviction.
Makamu allegedly called Wiersma the following day directly from his private cellphone.
In his statement, Wiersma claimed the judge initially asked for R7 000, but the amount was later reduced to R5 000. It was allegedly paid on 17 August into a Capitec account belonging to the judge’s nephew, according to The Citizen.
In WhatsApp messages, the judge allegedly framed the request for the bribe as a contribution towards his nephew’s university fees.
Despite the alleged bribe, the judge still dismissed Wiersma’s leave to appeal, with costs.
Makamu could not be reached for comment and had not replied to text messages at the time of publishing.
Advocate Sesi Baloyi, JSC spokesperson confirmed the investigation. The complainant said he was thankful the investigation will be handled by a reputable SCA judge.
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.
