Judge tells panel of judicial racism

Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) Judge Leona Theron silenced the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) boardroom when she fought back tears as she spoke about the discrimination she had faced in the judicial system.

“Yes‚ I have been a victim of racism. Yes‚ I have been a victim of sexism‚” Theron told the JSC on Tuesday during an interview for a position as Constitutional Court judge.

Of the five candidates who are being interviewed for the position, she is the only woman.

Theron spoke of the “unsettling environment” she was met with at the SCA that left her feeling “inadequate”.

She recalled an incident in which she put a follow-up question to a legal counsel after a senior judge had presented a question. The senior judge told the counsel to focus on the question he had asked and ignore what Theron had asked.

“It made me feel very small. It made me feel like I had done something stupid and silly‚” Theron told the JSC.

She was also disturbed that none of her colleagues had discussed the issue with her afterwards‚ saying they probably sneered about the incident among themselves.

Theron is just one of several candidates who have spoken about the racial divide that exists in the SCA.

On Monday‚ Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng expressed shock that issues at the SCA were only being revealed now.