Limpopo Judge President George Phatudi is set to face a tribunal after the Judicial Conduct Committee found, on the face of it, that he abused his powers in a royal dispute.
The finding followed a complaint lodged by Deborah Thulare and members of the Bapedi Royal House in Limpopo. They accuse Judge Phatudi of mishandling litigation instituted in the Limpopo Division of the High Court by their opponent in a long-running dispute over traditional leadership.
Retired Judge Chris Jafta, who headed the Judicial Conduct Committee, referred the matter to the Judicial Service Commission’s conduct committee for their recommendation on whether a tribunal should be established to examine the allegations further.
In January 2021, the king of the Bapedi Nation passed away without leaving a successor behind. The late king Victor Thulare’s mother, Queen Manyaku Thulare, and his half-brother Prince Morwamohube Thulare have since been embroiled in legal proceedings to be declared an acting monarch.
Queen Manyaku Thulare secured a provision order declaring her the acting queen, but Prince Morwamohube Thulare managed to have the order overturned, declaring him the acting king.
Queen Thulare then approached the Supreme Court of Appeal, but while this was pending, she returned to the High Court for an urgent order, on an ex parte basis – without informing the other side – to enforce the order that she is the acting queen.
Judge Jafta said, surprisingly, Judge Phatudi, who is the most senior judge in the Limpopo Division, entertained her application and granted the order in her favour.
“What happened thereafter was a comedy of errors by the High Court and what was highly prejudicial to the complainants,” Judge Jafta remarked.
On the return date of the matter, when the complainants eventually had a chance to oppose the application, it was somehow struck from the roll due to a lack of urgency.
On the next date, the court declined to also hear the matter. Meanwhile, Manyaku Thulare continued in her role as acting queen.
The complainants, meanwhile, accused Judge Phatudi of abusing his judicial powers to “advance the interests of individuals close to him.” In his response, Judge Phatudi denied any wrongdoing.
But Judge Jafta said: “When regard is had to the numerous strange features in the matter, and which are not explained by the Judge President, it cannot be said the allegations are fanciful.”
Judge Jafta said the test is to establish whether Judge Phatudi is guilty of gross misconduct and while this committee is not empowered to decide this, it is recommended that a tribunal be appointed to further examine the complaint. If he is found guilty of gross misconduct, it could lead to his impeachment.
This is the second time Judge Phatudi is in trouble as he was last year reprimanded by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya for breaching the judicial conduct code. Apart from being warned, he had to issue a written apology to advocate Shadrack Thebeile, the complainant in the matter, for presiding over a case which involved one of his former clients at the time when he was still a lawyer.
Thebeile lodged a complaint with the Judicial Conduct Committee against the judge following two cases in which he acted for the Makhuduthamaga Municipality as respondent in a land dispute matter, concerning an applicant who was a client of Judge Phatudi when the latter was an attorney.
Zelda Venter
iol.co.za
