CHIEF JUSTICE HITS BACK AT JUDGE MPENDULO

MBABANE – Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala says the application for his recusal filed by suspended Judge Mpendulo Simelane was intended solely for purposes of embarrassing him.

He further described the application as one that constituted a groundless attempt at impugning his (CJ) integrity.
CJ Maphalala is fervently disputing almost all the allegations levelled against him by the suspended judge in his application for the CJ’s recusal.
He mentioned that where an application for recusal as in the present case was brought on frivolous grounds, it had the effect of undermining public confidence in the judiciary.

This is contained in the CJ’s answering affidavit, where the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is opposing the application filed by Judge Simelane, where he wants the head of the judiciary to recuse himself as chairman of his impeachment.
“The application is not premised on a genuine reasonable apprehension of bias nor is it based on accurate facts,” submitted the CJ.
The head of the judiciary contented that on a conceptus of allegations, the lack of particularity to dates and absence of detail in relation to the nature of the alleged castigations and/or confrontations, led to the inescapable conclusion that the application had been brought on baseless grounds.

“I submit that on a proper consideration of facts, including the conduct of the respondent’s (Judge Simelane) attorney, when making the application for recusal, there is no basis to dislodge the presumption that I will be impartial and fair when sitting with other commissioners in the adjudication of this matter,” he said.

He argued that there was simply no cogent evidence substantiating the application for his recusal.

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