SACP notes the apology by former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng
4 February 2022
The South African Communist Party (SACP) notes the apology by former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng on Thursday, 3 February 2022. He had to comply with the decision of the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee directing him to apologise unconditionally for breaching the Judicial Code of Conduct when he involved himself in a political controversy in a pro-Israeli propaganda seminar held on 23 June 2020.
Mogoeng’s compliance with the decision of the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee is important in the sense that it has the potential to contribute to restoring public trust and respect for the judiciary, with the knowledge that no one is above the law. Contextually, it is important to note that the apology came at the time when the judiciary was systematically isolated and attacked.
The attacks against the judiciary escalated during the proceedings of the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture. They were intensified with unjust criticism devoid of any scientific substance when the commission, which is headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, handed over the first of its three-parts-report to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who took the commendable decision to release it immediately afterwards. When this happened, someone wielding a heavyweight hammer attacked the Constitutional Court by vandalising it.
Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee’s findings directing Mogoeng to apologise