Johnathan Paoli
Pretoria High Court Judge Tintswalo Makhubele is expected to resume her evidence on Friday before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal probing allegations of misconduct against her.
The former interim board chair of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) is accused of holding the position as well as the post of judge simultaneously and undermining the independence of the judiciary.
In addition, the judge is accused of improperly involving herself in litigation between the parastatal and a contractor implicated by state-capture investigations.
Makhubele on Thursday disputed the evidence brought by Judge President Dunstan Mlambo that she failed to take up office in the beginning of January 2018 and said that she had agreed to only start on 1 April by which time she was reasonably expected to have resigned from interim position at Prasa.
The judge said that she had indicated her intention to dispute the evidence Mlambo gave around communication between the two, and called for both of their cell phones to be submitted for forensic analysis.
On Wednesday, she said she intended to launch a high court application to have the tribunal interdicted from continuing.
The Judicial Conduct Committee’s tribunal on the judge was established in 2021 in response to a 2019 complaint by the #UniteBehind organisation.
In addition, she further stands against charges of misconduct allegations for her involvement and alleged disruption of the Siyaya Rail Solutions’ litigation against Prasa.
Siyaya received a R60 million settlement from Prasa, thanks to alleged assistance from Makhubele, with the company winning contracts from the entity, with its owners linked to ex-Prasa CEO Lucky Montana.
Makhubele has expressed her intention to represent herself, following several delays in the progress of the case.
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