Mbenenge inquiry told of peeled bananas, a marinade, and men ‘muffing’

Before the start of this landmark Judicial Tribunal misconduct inquiry, the chair of the panel, retired judge Bernard Ngoepe, argued that perhaps it should not be heard in public.

It would bring the judiciary into “disrepute”, he suggested. 

And indeed, there have been many moments during this mammoth inquiry into one of the country’s most senior judges when it might have been best not to learn the intimate details of the sordid saga.

It has been as humiliating and painful for the accuser, Andiswa Mengo, as it has been for the accused, Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge.

Mbenenge told the tribunal that he had felt “gutted” when the WhatsApps between him and Mengo had first been made public. He had been so aggrieved that he had opened a criminal complaint against her at the time.

The complainant has mostly sat impassively listening to the evidence her “romantic” pursuer has given at the tribunal in the past two days, but later accused Mbenenge of “gesturing” at her, making her “uncomfortable”. 

She walked out soon afterwards, said her legal representative, advocate Nasreen Rajab-Budlender.

In a matter as crucial as this – how men and women relate in the workplace and where the matrix of power lies between them – all the vegetables need to be on the table, or in the oven, so to speak. And they were.

XXX-rated

While live feeds of the tribunal have always carried an “explicit content” warning, Tuesday’s session was a whopper.

On Monday, Mbenenge began giving his evidence to the panel, denying that he had sent messages containing lewd suggestions and pornographic material to court secretary Andiswa Mengo in 2021.

He stated categorically that Mengo was lying about an explicit photograph he had allegedly sent and denied ever harassing the secretary. 

He has consistently explained his messages as “sensual”, “playful”, “joking” and “consensual”, offered as part of the common practice of “courting”.

The morning began with evidence of WhatApps that began passing between Mbenenge and Mengo, from 16 June 2021.

Advocate Muzi Sikhakane, Mbenenge’s legal representative, said he had put the judge on “auto-pilot” and had let him speak for himself instead of guiding him.

Peeled bananas and guavas

It was then the tribunal learnt that Mbenenge had indeed sent an emoji of a peeled banana to Mengo, but denied it signified a penis. He later admitted that he had known that the eggplant and peach emojis had been “sensual”.

After the peeled banana, he had asked Mengo what she would give him in return when they met up later, as he had suggested.

Concerning the peeled banana, Mbenenge said: “If you have seen a couple sharing a banana, the one is holding it, the one bites, he or she passes this on to the other one, they too bite. That too is flirtatious.” 

Also, he had taken one of Mengo’s replies that she was “busy cooking” to mean she was getting “hot”, with references then made to “marinade”, which he assumed meant Mengo was getting ready for “warmth and melting”.

Mengo has told the tribunal that Mbenenge would not take “no” for an answer and that she had, in fact, said this at least four times during the ongoing communications.

Mbenenge read out on Tuesday some of Mengo’s evidence that he had allegedly sent a visual of “a man muffing a woman” on 17 June. This was not a picture of “a man muffing a woman”, repeated the JP, but pornography, as far as he was concerned.

He later admitted that he had asked Mengo, on 20 June, whether they could have sex. Mengo had responded with a Bible verse which began with the word “no”. Mbenenge took this to mean that she did not want to be intimate at that particular moment.

He followed his request with emojis of an eggplant and a guava. These are known to represent male and female sexual organs. The peach, an expert told the tribunal earlier, symbolised a “bum”.

Peaches were not in the mix on Tuesday, but “Long Tom” made a reappearance when Mbenenge agreed this referred to his penis.

Culture raises its head again

Later in the day, Sikhakhane asked Mbenenge about his views of the criticism that “culture” had been used as an excuse for his persistence and his violation of Mengo’s personal boundaries.

“This thing about persistence, looked at from a Eurocentric perspective, may then say, when you persist, you harass. I don’t understand it that way. It is a perspective that does not appreciate my culture,” he said.

Evidence leader Salomé Scheepers began her cross-questioning of Mbenenge, rebuking his earlier attack that she had not done her job in following up evidence that he claimed would prove his innocence.

“Judge President, you may have been confused. Were you making argument or giving evidence? Your understanding of the roles is incorrect as a matter of law and we will speak to this later,” said Scheepers.

The cross-examination continues on Wednesday, 9 July 2025. DM