Durban - On Thursday, KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Chiman Patel would have become the first South African judge president to have been put on trial.
Instead, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is to withdraw the charge of crimen injuria (criminal defamation) against him in what many believe is an embarrassing concession that he should not have been charged in the first place.
Judge Patel is stepping down as judge president at the end of the month when he retires, a move motivated in part by the decision to prosecute him.
He declined to comment on Wednesday, but it is believed his legal team would issue a statement after charges were formally withdrawn on Thursday and that he was considering suing for damages.
Lulama Luti, a spokeswoman for the judiciary, confirmed that the Office of the Chief Justice had been informed about the impending withdrawal of charges and said the matter would be heard in an open court.
She also confirmed that Judge Patel would retire at the end of the month.
“The post to be vacated by the judge president will be advertised and considered by the Judicial Service Commission at its April 2015 sitting,”she said.
Judge Patel appeared briefly in court last month when the trial – to be heard by a magistrate from another province – was set down for Thursday and Friday, his lawyers saying he wanted no delays. The charge related to an incident that occurred in his chambers in October last year when he allegedly called a clerk, Lindiwe Nxele, a “nonsense, trash, rubbish and useless person” – an allegation he denied.
While the NPA declined to answer questions on the issue, saying “the matter has been set down for trial and will be dealt with in court”, The Mercury confirmed with four sources that the charge would be withdrawn. One said: “There are apparently material contradictions between the complainant’s version and that of other State witnesses. This should have been apparent right from the beginning.”
Another said the State witnesses – which included Nxele, court manager Karien Marais, who was present in chambers at the time the alleged comments were made, and Judge Patel’s secretary, Devika (Roma) Morar – were interviewed repeatedly, but the “numerous material contradictions” could not be overcome.
The Mercury understands that a regional magistrate from Gauteng had been asked to preside over the trial, and travel and accommodation arrangements had been made.
These had to be cancelled on Tuesday afternoon.
Another wasted cost has been incurred by the State Attorney’s Office, which briefed two advocates, Marumo Moerane SC, and Pingla Hemraj SC, to represent the judge at the trial.
A senior judge, who did not wish to be named, asked who at the NPA would be held responsible for this “debacle”.
“It was always a petty charge. It was an internal matter. And the NPA must have known this from the outset.
“No one considered the consequences of this to the administration of justice, public perception and the personal consequences for Judge Patel.”
KZN Society of Advocates chairman, Rajesh Choudree SC, said Patel had become a victim of the system and he wondered how many other ordinary people were being subjected to similar experiences.
“How does one ever compensate him? He has been under so much stress. And now, in a sense, he is being denied an opportunity to have his day in court and clear his name,” he said.
The Mercury