Judges reassure South Africans of their commitment to Constitution

In an unprecedented show of force‚ more than 20 of SA’s most senior judges‚ led by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng‚ publicly sought to reassure the nation that — despite "repeated and unfounded criticism" — the country’s judges remained steadfast in their fidelity to the Constitution and their oaths of office.

The announcement was made in the wake of the stinging criticism by African National Congress general secretary Gwede Mantashe that sections of the judiciary were driven to "create chaos for governance". The concern was raised again in a tripartite alliance summit statement‚ which said judgments "of certain regions and judges are consistently against the state".

There were also reports of on-oath evidence that Police Minister Nathi Nhleko had said to senior Independent Police Investigative Directorate managers that "some elements of the judiciary meet with characters to produce certain judgments".

Sitting alongside 26 of the most senior judges‚ Justice Mogoeng was careful to say that he was not addressing any particular criticism‚ saying his statement was a "broad statement‚ in principle". But he added that "we can’t pretend that nothing has been said".

He said he had been asked by the heads of court to meet with President Jacob Zuma to "point out and discuss the dangers of the repeated and unfounded criticism".

Suggestions that judges in certain cases had been "prompted by other to arrive at a predetermined result" was "a notion that we reject"‚ said the Chief Justice.

He said criticism against the judiciary should be fair and in good faith‚ and should be "specific and clear".

"General gratuitous criticism is unacceptable‚" said the chief justice.

BDLive

RDM News Wire.