The Magistrates Commission said on Wednesday it had realised its mistake in handling cases involving some magistrates facing misconduct inquiries.
The commission said it was working hard and making strides towards improving the situation.
“We realised our mistake of not dealing with these matters swiftly. We are working on it and we have made some progress,” the commission’s ethics committee chairperson, Naome Manaka, said.
Manaka made the statement while briefing the select committee on security and justice on matters related to suspension, removal from office and upliftment of suspension of affected magistrates on the grounds of misconduct and ill-health.
The commission has to obtain confirmation from the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces when a magistrate is to be suspended or removed from office.
However, concerns have been expressed regarding the time it takes to bring matters to Parliament for confirmation, with the portfolio committee on justice and correctional services raising its concerns two months ago.
Manaka brought up the issue when she made her presentation.
Committee chairperson Shahidabibi Shaikh said they were in agreement that some matters were not dealt with swiftly.
Referring to one case in which there was a two-year delay, Shaikh said: “This kind of delay is unacceptable.”
She said there had been delays for various reasons.
“I don’t think it is only this matter. There have been delays. Other matters still speak to this delay. We want you to deal with this matter swiftly,” Shaikh said.
She asked what improvement the commission was implementing to address the delays in dealing with such matters.
Manaka confirmed that there was no way to justify the delays in dealing with the disciplinary matters.
She blamed lack of capacity as one of the reasons for the delays.
“The commission was running without a secretary.
“The acting secretary was also secretary of the ethics committee. He had to do work for all the other committees,” she said.
Manaka said there had been a vast increase in matters reported to the ethics committee.
“Perhaps it is a positive thing. Maybe the public is starting to believe in the work of the commission in these matters.”
Manaka said they had put in place measures to channel and prioritise these matters.
“When matters are not in our control, inter alia, because they are before a disciplinary hearing, we take charge to follow up and get constant reports from the persons leading evidence.”
She said a standard operating procedure had been compiled, and the ethics committee held frequent meetings.
“When I started as the chair we started with a clean-up campaign,” she said.
In the recent past, the ethics committee has held meetings weekly and spent hours expediting the approval of the charge sheets.
“We have good results. There are about 10 charge sheets dealt with in the last two months,” she said.
Manaka said the commission has created a database of magistrates to be appointed as persons leading evidence in misconduct inquiries.
“We are really making strides. We are working tirelessly,” she said.
“We are concerned and we really want to bring back the integrity of the commission and work as fast as possible,” Manaka said.
On Wednesday, the committee confirmed the removal from office of Oberholzer additional magistrate HC Raath, who was found guilty of misconduct for running a pyramid scheme.
It also confirmed the removal of Caledon additional magistrate, K Maharaj, due to ill-health after he suffered a brain injury and as result it was found that he cannot perform his duties as a magistrate.
The committee also confirmed the removal from office of Bloemfontein chief magistrate MD Hinxa, after he was found guilty of making sexual advances to a complainant.
There was confirmation of the provisional suspension of Limpopo’s Lenyenye magistrate, R Govender, after she was charged with dishonesty after she misled the special review of a case she presided over.
The committee also confirmed the provisional suspension of Pietermaritzburg senior magistrate Ashin Singh pending the outcome of a misconduct hearing into his fitness to hold the office of magistrate, as well as the upliftment of provisional suspension of uMlazi magistrate Kholeka Bodlani in order for her to reconstruct a court record.
Cape Times