It’s hard to see the wisdom of the chief justice inserting himself so blatantly in the political terrain

It has to be said loud and clear and without any equivocation that the judiciary should not in any way be involved in the cut and thrust of politics or mudslinging of any sort. To fulfil its role as an independent arbiter in a rumbustious democracy such as we have, the institution has to be ring-fenced or quarantined from such conflicts.

This is a message that the chief justice especially needs to take to heart. The independence of the judiciary is in his hands, and it is in his remit that he should guard it with his life.

The judiciary has been in the news lately for some unpalatable reasons. First it was a victim of mischief-making on social media when some nonentity alleged that certain judges had received large sums of money from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s campaign fund. The false allegations were obviously intended to exploit Ramaphosa’s highly publicised scandal to besmirch the judges’ reputation. It was no surprise that the judges accused of having received such bribes happened to be those who had ruled against Jacob Zuma, public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the EFF. The insinuation was that they had been paid to pass such judgments.

It was understandable, therefore, that chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng would seek to debunk such an impression by denouncing those making such allegations. But the ideal response would probably have been to ignore them. For the chief justice to address himself to unsubstantiated allegations by faceless individuals was to help give the allegations legs.

There’s also a salient lesson for the media, especially in an era when everyone with a gadget seems to fancy himself as a reporter. It is important to properly establish the source of every nugget of information. Social media is not always a reliable source. It is crucial to know who peddles the information and for what purpose. Marshall McLuhan’s dictum remains apt: the medium is the message.

And there was of course the criticism of the judiciary by the EFF (who else?), with Julius Malema threatening to go back to the bush to fight to rid the country of “biased” judges. Such bluster should be rejected with the contempt it deserves.

Given the complete collapse of any ethical conduct on the part of our rulers and the damage they’ve done to the country, the courts have become our only saving grace, our last line of defence.

In cleaning up the mess created by politicians, our judges, more often than not, are called upon to make decisions that have huge political consequences, thus inviting the sort of criticism that comes from the likes of Malema. But that shouldn’t be their bother. The judiciary should be averse only to politicians’ embrace or praise, not their criticism. After all, their job is to keep the executive on the straight and narrow. When politicians exceed their power or when the decisions they make inflict pain on the powerless, it is the courts’ responsibility to rein them in. To reinforce their independence, judges should therefore eschew any conduct or comment that could be viewed as political or biased. Anything with a whiff of politics should be avoided like the plague.

It is therefore hard to understand why chief justice Mogoeng should think it’s a good idea for him to insert himself so blatantly in the political terrain. It’s unbecoming of the chief justice to be jumping from one podium to the next pontificating about every subject under the sun.

He seems lately to have been making more political than judicial pronouncements. If the judiciary is to retain its independence, if it’s wrong for politicians (or anybody for that matter) to act in a way that belittles or damages the reputation of the judiciary, it can’t be right for the chief justice to be going around making speeches as if he’s running for political office. He can’t carry any political baggage. Worse, the subject he’s sounding off about may yet land before him in court. The office he holds surely deserves a certain decorum. Politics is a dirty game. Like mud wrestling, anyone involved in it cannot avoid the splatter of mud.

With a president who often seems to go Awol and a ruling party that looks more like a criminal syndicate, it is obviously tempting for him, as head of a branch of government, to want to lecture to all and sundry. He must resist such temptation.

It’s not as if one disagrees with what he says. Most of his comments are often right on the button. But that’s not the point. It is not his job, and his politicking could imperil the standing of the judiciary. If he has things to say to the government, they would be better said behind closed doors. Otherwise his judgments should speak for themselves.

Mogoeng was plucked from total obscurity by Zuma and promoted over the heads of seasoned colleagues. That left a cloud over his head because many thought he’d be another of Zuma’s many chosen sycophants. But the Nkandla judgment against Zuma was courageous and not only proved that Mogoeng was nobody’s poodle, it also seemed to give him wings — it liberated him. Apart from the president, probably nobody else currently has higher status.

Somebody needs to whisper a simple message in his ear: for the chief justice to dabble in politics is bad for the judiciary. It sets a bad precedent. It would be difficult, I guess, for members of the bench to wean their superior off a pastime that he clearly enjoys. The politicians can’t, and shouldn’t, do it either. Only he can keep his counsel. After all, at stake is the health not only of the judiciary but of our democracy as well.