In the opening day of Oasis Group Holdings's defamation case against Judge Siraj Desai on Thursday, it emerged that Cape Judge President John Hlophe had received several payments from the Oasis Group, totalling close to R500 000.
According to papers before the Cape High Court, he received this money over a 39-month period.
Some of the payments were received around the time Judge Hlophe finally gave the asset management company consent to sue Judge Desai.
The payments made to Judge Hlophe were fees due to him as an Oasis board member and for consultation.
Hlophe gave Oasis consent in October 2004. He had been approached for permission twice in 2001 and in both instances refused.
On Thursday Judge Desai and his legal team, which includes senior counsel Schalk Burger and Jeremy Gauntlett, asked for time to investigate the circumstances in which the judge president gave Oasis consent to sue him.
The defamation action was supposed to go ahead on Thursday, with Oasis calling Judge Hlophe as its first witness.
Oasis asked Mr Justice Frans Malan, who was specially brought to the Cape High Court from Johannesburg to hear the case, to allow an amendment to its papers to reflect that it had obtained consent from the judge president after Judge Desai had waived his rights to challenge the consent.
There was no objection to the amendment and Judge Malan granted the application.
Burger told the court he needed a postponement to allow him more time to consult his client and to probe certain aspects of the evidence to be led. He said he may also need Oasis to provide him with additional documents.
Oasis first approached Judge Hlophe for consent in December 2001. But days later, Hlophe declined. Oasis then repeated its request. In April 2002, two additional letters were sent to Judge Hlophe, asking for his response.
Judge Hlophe replied on April 25, that year and again declined their request.
It was during this year that Hlophe received a one-off R25 000 payment from Oasis.
In 2003 he received 12 payments of R10 000 each.
Oasis continued to send written requests to Judge Hlophe throughout 2002, 2003 and 2004, when a desperate plea was made to him to attend to the matter, saying that prescription was looming.
Judge Hlophe eventually responded on October 29 2004, saying that he had hoped the matter would be resolved amicably and that he would now allow Oasis to sue Judge Desai.
This was the year in which Hlophe accepted R147 500 from Oasis - one payment of R10 000 and 11 of R12 500.
After he gave consent, he continued to receive payments and in 2005 he accepted 10 payments of R12 500 and one of R25 000. Last year he received two payments of R12 500.
In the defamation action, Oasis alleges that Judge Desai accused the company of conducting dishonest business and had made statements harmful to the business's reputation.
Oasis claimed R250 000 in damages but said that, should the court find in its favour and Desai publish three full-page advertisements in three city newspapers, he would not have to pay the damages.
Oasis alleges that Judge Desai defamed it at a meeting the company held with University Estate residents concerning the development of a corporate head office in the area. He allegedly accused the company of conducting a survey among the residents in a fraudulent manner.
The matter will return to court in June.