By Karyn Maughan and Louise Flanagan
One of the judges vying for a post at South Africa's highest court has kept his history as the only judge legally able to authorise phone tapping under wraps.
But, confronted with questions about whether he was responsible for allowing the monitoring of prosecuting bosses that ultimately won President Jacob Zuma his freedom, Judge Willie Seriti said he couldn't remember.
"If I've done it I can't recall it," Judge Seriti told The Star yesterday.
"The only thing I can confirm is the period I served (as interceptions judge)."
Asked why he had not disclosed his work as interceptions judge to the Judicial Service Commission, which will today consider his application for a position at the Concourt, Judge Seriti told The Star this omission was deliberate because he thought the law prohibited him from mentioning this work.
"I'm not sure whether one should disclose it. It's a very touchy issue, but I thought it safer to be on the side of caution," he said.
The judge said that if his identity had not previously been confirmed, he would not have discussed it.
Judge Seriti could not remember the exact dates he served as the interceptions judge, but it included the period of November and December, 2007, when the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) tapped the phone conversations of former NPA boss Bulelani Ngcuka and then head of the Scorpions Leonard McCarthy.
Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe cited the recordings as the reason for his decision to drop charges against Zuma earlier this year.
The NIA gave the NPA transcripts of the relevant sections of the recordings, he said.
"The NPA is thus confident that its decision is based on information that was intercepted legally and obtained legally by the NPA." If the recordings were obtained legally, it means the interception was authorised by a judge.
Yesterday Judge Malesela Legodi told the JSC he had acted as the interceptions judge during 2007. Judge Legodi said he had acted for only about two months, around June, 2007, and was not involved in the McCarthy-Ngcuka matter.
Interview rating for judges
Chris Japhta
Judge Jafta's interview was one of the shortest thus far. The judge, who was one of Judge President John Hlophe's two accusers, was unfazed when he was asked to explain his alleged "backtracking" on the evidence he gave about Judge Hlophe's alleged efforts to improperly sway him. Judge Jafta insisted that Judge Hlophe had tried to influence him. He, however, said that continuing the aborted Hlophe probe would "only do damage" to the judiciary.
Mahomed Jajbhay
Judge Jajbhay's toughest questions were about his handling of ex-Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's health records battle with the Sunday Times. JSC member Marumo Moerane, who represented Tshabalala-Msimang, hammered the judge over his finding that the disclosure of illegally obtained medical records could sometimes be in the public interest. Chief Justice Pius Langa asked Moerane if he was trying to re-argue the case.
Sisi Khampepe
The woman who led the Khampepe Commission on the future of the Scorpions spent more than an hour in the hot seat - and came out smiling. A former national deputy director of public prosecutions and Truth and Reconciliation commissioner, Judge Khampepe said she was not disappointed that her recommendations that the Scorpions not be disbanded were not followed. "We can't be disappointed when our recommendations are not followed."
Franklin Kroon
Judge Kroon, who was acting at the Constitutional Court during the Judge Hlophe furore, told the JSC that the debacle had been "sad".
"Painful is an apt word," he said. Dropping the matter was in the best interests of the judiciary, he said.
At age 68, Judge Kroon is is due for retirement in under two years but said he believed he could bring a "fresh, innovative approach" to the Concourt.
Francis Legodi
Judge Legodi, who said he wanted to join the Concourt so that he could host "constitutional open days in the rural areas", was unfazed when confronted with accusations that he was still too inexperienced and unqualified for a position at the Concourt. "It's always good to be judged by people... If that is the view that they have expressed about me they are entitled to have that view. I think I have done my best."
Mandisa Maya
Judge Maya - who felt compelled to disclose that she had speeding fines - cheerfully told the JSC that she had got a "serious case of cold feet" the day before her interview.
This, she said, was due largely to concerns raised by her husband.
"But I'm here on my own ticket, not on his," she said.
Judge Maya is recognised as one of the top female judges in the country.
Dunstan Mlambo
Confident and articulate, Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Dunstan Mlambo said he wanted a place at the Concourt so that his presence could fill the "massive loss of experience" that would result after four of the court's judges retired. Judge Mlambo, who is chairman of the Legal Aid Board, spent much of his interview fielding increasingly tough questions about the functioning of and problems with the board.
Mogoeng Mogoeng
Judge Mogoeng enthusiastically revealed how he had fought to improve the functioning of his province's courts with training and education. Judge Mogoeng said he felt that he had "made every kind of contribution I can make in my province; it's time to make a far greater contribution".
Asked what he would do about the 55 head of cattle he owned if he were appointed, Judge Mogoeng said he would sell them or give them to family members.
Dennis Davis
Cape High Court Judge Dennis Davis, the renowned constitutional law expert, was irritated by JSC member Cecil Burgess's questions about his views on Cape Judge President John Hlophe and his spat with the Concourt. "I thought I was coming here to talk about myself, not my judge president," he said. The judge admitted that he and Judge Hlophe had profound "ideological differences" but denied that racism was the motivating factor for these differences.