Chief Justice told to apologise for pro-Israel comments
Mogoeng Mogoeng found to have contravened Code of Judicial Conduct
OUTGOING Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has been ordered to apologise and withdraw his pro-Israel comments, which have now been found to have contravened the Code of Judicial Conduct.
The Judicial Conduct Committee yesterday informed the complainants in the matter – #Africa4Palestine, the South African BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Coalition and the Women’s Cultural Group – that Mogoeng had been found to have breached the Code of Judicial Conduct.
Mogoeng made the comments in June last year during a webinar organised by The Jerusalem Post, where he claimed to be under an obligation as a Christian to love Israel and pray for Jerusalem’s peace, which means that country’s peace.
”If I curse Abraham and Israel, the almighty God will curse me too,” he said.
Mogoeng added: “I cannot do anything, as a Christian, other than love and pray for Israel because I know hatred for Israel by me and for my nation can only attract unprecedented curses.”
Retired Gauteng Deputy Judge President Phineas Mojapelo, who is a member of the Judicial Conduct Committee, directed Mogoeng to issue an apology and a retraction for his comments.
Judge Mojapelo, who was designated to investigate Mogoeng’s comments, decided that some of the complaints against the Chief Justice had been established.
Mogoeng, who is due to retire at the end of the year, was widely condemned for his comments, with the ANC expressing its concern about his statements and demanding high-level talks with him, and for National Assembly speaker Thandi Modise to talk to the country’s top judge.
His former colleague, retired Constitutional Court Justice Zak Yacoob, called for an investigation by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
Yacoob also called on the JSC to censure Mogoeng for breaching the Code of Judicial Conduct by appearing in public in his capacity as Chief Justice and making comments that were in contradiction with South African foreign policy.
At the time, the EFF condemned Mogoeng, saying he was trying to delegitimise the international human rights campaign against Israel, which it described as an “apartheid state”.
The EFF said Mogoeng would never have been Chief Justice without the BDS movement against apartheid, and demanded that he retract his comments on Israel, which it blamed for oppressing Palestinians.
Mogoeng received some backing from the South African Friends of Israel (Safi), which claimed those denouncing him were mischievously misinterpreting his statement towards their hateful agenda.
”Attacking the chief justice for expressing his Christian views is a direct attack on freedom of religion and expression in this country. Safi objects to this fundamental right being undermined,” the organisation said, adding that Christians in South Africa would not be silenced, and applauded him for standing up for his convictions.