Judge President Jappie backs Mogoeng
KWAZULU-NATAL Judge President Achmat Jappie says Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng did not speak out of turn when he commented recently on societal issues.
Judge Jappie, who spoke to the media yesterday in a session organised by the South African National Editors’ Forum, said the chief justice had been speaking about how he saw what was happening in society.
“He was stating his view, which he has a right to do. I do not think that it was political at all or that he was commenting on the judgment (the Constitutional Court’s judgment on Nkandla).”
Earlier this month, the chief justice was criticised by ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe for what he described as a “series of lectures” on the judgments.
At the talks, Justice Mogoeng spoke about unethical leadership and people amassing personal wealth with no regard for the country’s growth.
However, Judge Jappie said he did not think judges should make public comments on matters that could end up in court.
“The issue is that they may comment on matters that they later have to decide on, so I do not think judges should make public comments.”
The judge president also said the main challenge for the judiciary in the province was “infrastructure”.
He said the Durban High Court was due for an upgrade, but it would probably take several years before it was complete.
Last year The Mercury reported about the conditions at the Durban High Court where air-conditioning systems went on the blink and there were problems with bird droppings, fleas and lice.
Yesterday Judge Jappie said he was fully aware of the problems and they had been raised with the Department of Public Works.
“The building is old and was built in 1910 and it does not have enough courtrooms, or courts that are large enough to accommodate several accused. The Department of Public Works has promised that there will be an upgrade to the building, but it is likely only to be complete in 2022.”
The judge president also said there were not enough judges in the division, but it would be pointless to appoint more because there was insufficient space.
“The workload of judges has increased immensely and they are dealing with challenging work, not run-of-the-mill cases. But more judges cannot be appointed now because there is no place for them in Durban.”