Cape Town -The Judicial Services Commission is to decide this week whether to investigate Judge Jeanette Traverso’s handling of the Shrien Dewani murder trial.
In January, the Higher Education Transformation Network laid a formal complaint against the judge, accusing her of judicial bias against the State’s case and deciding to acquit Dewani of murder without giving the prosecution a fair hearing.
Judge Traverso was given until the end of last month to respond.
A spokeswoman for the Judicial Conduct Committee, which is composed of the chief justice and four judges, said Judge Traverso had replied in writing and her letter would be presented during a meeting on Friday.
The committee could not disclose the contents of the letter because, it said, this could jeopardise its decision on whether to investigate the judge’s conduct, which was set to be made during the meeting.
The Higher Education Transformation Network said on Tuesday that the commission had already convened a panel to pursue the case.
In its original complaint, the Network wrote that:
* Traverso had shown prejudice against the “black prosecutor Adrian Mopp”.
* She favoured Dewani’s “white Afrikaans counsel”.
* She harassed the State with “aggressive and unpleasant” interrogation.
* Her decision to discharge Dewani was made without giving the prosecution a fair and proper hearing.
Dewani was acquitted of all charges, including murder, after his counsel brought an application to have him discharged.
He had been charged with orchestrating the death of his bride, Anni Hindocha, during their honeymoon in November, 2010.
It was the State’s case that Dewani paid a taxi driver to stage the hijacking in which Hindocha was killed.
Judge Traverso granted the application for discharge, and he was thus acquitted of five charges relating to the killing.
“There is no evidence on which a reasonable man can convict the accused,” she said at the time.
Local lawyers, including William Booth, agreed that the State’s case had slowly unravelled throughout the murder trial. But now the Higher Education Transformation Network has argued that Judge Traverso deliberately skewed the case against the State. In its complaint it called for the deputy judge president to be removed from the Bench.
It’s not the first time Judge Traverso’s actions have been questioned. Last November, the Justice4Anni campaign delivered a petition to the offices of the justice department calling for her recusal from Dewani’s case. It attracted more than 2 400 signatures.
In a 22-page dossier accompanying the petition, the organisation wrote that the judge had refused to allow key prosecution evidence from being submitted, without explanation, and had made an incorrect statement in court.
The judge had frequently blocked the prosecution from delving into Dewani’s self-admitted bisexuality, saying it had no bearing on the murder trial.
Anni’s uncle, Ashok Hindocha, saidhe supported complaints against Judge Traverso.
The Higher Education Transformation Network has now called for transparency, complaining it was left in the dark about the judge’s response until Tuesday.
Cape Argus