By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gender Expert Lisa Vetten has been testifying before the Judicial Conduct Tribunal probing Andiswa Mengo’s allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge. If found guilty, he could face impeachment.
Mengo claims the sexual advances from Mbenenge were unwanted.
Mbenenge admits to sending some of the messages, but he says it was consensual.
He has specifically denied Mengo’s allegation that he sent her a picture of his penis and asked her for oral sex in his chambers.
The reams of WhatsApp messages, which contain explicit emojis, have been under the spotlight since the tribunal first sat in January this year.
On Monday, it was Vetten’s turn to give her expert opinion on whether or not the WhatsApp exchanges constituted sexual harassment.
Vetten said it was clear that Mbenenge, as the judge president of the province, wielded power and influence.
Generally, workplaces were hierarchical, and while Mbenenge was not Mengo’s direct boss, she was a secretary, and “saying no to someone who is your senior is difficult” because of possible consequences including victimisation.
“There are also questions of influence. Who is more likely to be believed … whose word would carry more weight,” she said.
Any perceived consent by Mengo to the messaging through sexual banter was not real consent, but coercion, she testified.
Advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, representing Mbenenge, said cross examination would take “days and days”.
Sikhakhane praised Vetten as an “intellectual” who did important work for women, but accused her of being biased and ignoring “chunks” of evidence pointing to Mengo’s complicity.
Vetten’s expert testimony could not be trusted, he suggested.
Vetten conceded that language and culture (both Mengo and Mbenenge are Xhosa speakers) were important issues to consider in any analysis and she had only relied on the translation of the messages.
“So your analysis may be mistaken,” Sikhakhane asked. “It’s certainly possible,” Vetten answered.
Sikhakhane said Vetten’s description of Mengo as a submissive and docile woman was inaccurate and that false claims of sexual harassment risked undermining the experiences of actual victims.
Vetten said she was aware that false claims do occur but noted that women’s credibility is often undermined when they do not “behave well” enough to fit the description of a victim.
Sikhakhane implied that Mengo was making a false claim against Mbenenge and was using the allegation of sexual harassment to attack his character, which he said undermines gender-based violence advocacy.
The tribunal, chaired by retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe, is expected to sit until 11 July, with Mbenenge expected to bring his witnesses and testify himself.