Johannesburg - Judge President of the Gauteng division of the high court, Dunstan Mlambo, is looking into a complaint that a Limpopo man apparently covertly tried to influence several of Acting Judge Colleen Collis’s decisions.
Judiciary spokesman Nathi Mncube said the matter had been reported to Judge Mlambo.
The alleged interference with the judge’s independence was brought to light by a dispute over the Venda chieftaincy.
The argument about who should succeed the late Thovhele Vho-Vusani Netshimbupfe as the chief of the Tshimbupfe Traditional Authority is before the high court in Thohoyandou.
The chief died in 2013.
Judge Collis stepped down from the case last month, citing discomfort caused by a stranger who seemingly tried to influence her.
This has put the spotlight on the independence and impartiality of judges, who were recently criticised by ANC and SACP leaders.
The man, whose name is known to The Star but was not mentioned in court, twice tried to sway Judge Collis before the court heard the matter.
Judge Collis told the court that the man phoned her when she was in Polokwane to say a meeting should be arranged between her and the royal family when she arrived in Thohoyandou.
Judge Collis said the man phoned her before she knew she had been assigned the case.
A few weeks later, before the matter was set to be heard in court, he approached Judge Collis at a Thohoyandou hotel. Judge Collis didn’t divulge details of their hotel conversation.
She told the court that it had made her uncomfortable. “The person who approached me is not even a legal representative but it appears he has an interest in the case of the applicants before court,” Judge Collis said.
Funzani Netshimbupfe, whose late father Edward was replaced by Vusani in 1991, is the main applicant. Edward was deposed as chief on the recommendation of the Mushasha Commission.
Judge Collis said the applicants’ legal representatives, led by advocate Zinzile Matebese, said the man had apologised for his actions.
But other respondents, among them Mulatedzi Netshimbupfe, Vusani’s eldest son, wants the matter to be moved from Thohoyandou to the high court in Polokwane.
They also want Judge Mlambo to preside over the case, and if that’s not possible, for him not to divulge the name of the person he nominates until September 14, when the matter returns to court.
Mncube said the aggrieved respondents must bring their application before the presiding judge. “We have confidence that all judges adhere to the judges’ codes of conduct,” he added.
The Star