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JUDGE MPENDULO’S IMPEACHMENT FINALLY BEGINS

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MBABANE – Suspended Judge Mpendulo Simelane’s long-awaited impeachment finally began yesterday evening.
Impeachment is a formal accusation of wrongdoing against a public official.


The impeachment process, which was held at the High Court Conference room, is chaired by Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala.
Also forming part of the panel are two members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Pholile Dlamini and Peter Mamba.
The hearing resumed at exactly 6:15pm and the suspended judge arrived in the company of his family and his lawyer Sipho Simelane.


It was while everyone had settled waiting for the hearing to proceed that JSC lawyer Zweli Jele from Robinson Bertram stood up and applied for a postponement.
He informed the CJ and the commissioners that the reason he was asking for a postponement was that  there were preliminary issues which were being discussed by the parties.
Jele applied that the proceedings be postponed to tomorrow.


His application was not opposed by Judge Simelane’s lawyer and this resulted in the CJ postponing the hearing to tomorrow afternoon.
In accordance with the provisions of Section 158 (2) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland, a formal notice of inquiry was issued into the question of removal of Justice Simelane from the office of Justice of the High Court of the Kingdom of Swaziland.


Judge Simelane was suspended following his arrest by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on corruption-related charges. The JSC has since given lawyers from Robinson and Bertram the task to prosecute in Simelane’s impeachment proceedings.


This is the same law firm which successfully prosecuted in the impeachment of former Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi.
The document states that Judge Simelane was found guilty of serious misbehaviour in that he knowingly and willfully presided over the matter involving then Chief Justice Ramodibedi versus the Swaziland Revenue Authority, knowing that he was precluded from presiding over the matter.

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