Another High Court judge faces JCC probe over R5000 bribery allegations

THE Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) will investigate a formal complaint against an acting judge of the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg following allegations that the judge solicited and received a R5000 bribe to rule in favour of an application in a case before the judge.

- ZELDA VENTER

Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judge Halima Saldulker has been appointed to probe the allegations against the acting judge in a complaint lodged by businessman and lawyer Bouwe Wiersma last year.

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach late last year urged the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to urgently attend to complaints of bribery against the judge. The judge allegedly accepted the R5000 to grant leave to appeal against an eviction order.

Breytenbach said the judiciary is the last line of defence against a complete breakdown in the rule of law. "A mafia state is characterised by, among others, a captured judiciary. Judges who take bribes must be dealt with swiftly and punished severely," she said.