CCTV footage of Mengo running out of chambers wasn't retrieved, Mbenenge tribunal told
During cross-examination before the judicial conduct tribunal, Naidoo was pressed for answers over Tokota’s irregular request to view footage captured on the 14th and 15th of November 2022.
Director of facilities and security management at the Office of the Chief Justice, Prabagaran Naidoo, testified at the Judicial Conduct Tribunal investigating allegations of sexual harassment against Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge on 12 May 2025. Picture: @OCJ_RSA/X
JOHANNESBURG - Director of facilities and security management at the office of the chief justice, Prabagaran Naidoo, has disputed giving Eastern Cape judge, Bantubonke Tokota, permission to view CCTV footage from the court.
During cross-examination before the judicial conduct tribunal, Naidoo was pressed for answers over Tokota’s irregular request to view footage captured on the 14th and 15th of November 2022.
High Court secretary, Andiswa Mengo, alleges that the judge president of the division, Selby Mbenenge, summoned her to his chambers around these dates.
He allegedly drew her attention to his private parts, making suggestive comments.
Naidoo testified before the tribunal sitting in Sandton on Monday, as it probes sexual harassment allegations levelled against the judge president.
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Eastern Cape Judge President, Mbenenge, disputes attempting to expose himself to Mengo in their first in-person encounter since Mengo alleged the unwanted sexual advances started.
However, the CCTV footage of the 15th of November 2022, when Mengo allegedly raced out of the judge president’s chambers following the alleged incident, was not retrieved.
It had, however, been irregularly viewed by another judge in the division, Bantubonke Tokota.
Mengo testified that the incident occurred either on the 14th or 15th of November. Still, Mbenenge’s legal counsel, advocate Griffiths Mandosela highlighted that the footage from the 14th of November, which was played before the tribunal, does not depict this.
"As it starts, it shows miss Mengo walking down the passage and exiting through the door near the camera, which is chamber 1 door. The next thing we see from the footage is Mengo entering again through the chamber 1 door. When she re-enters the building through that corridor 1 door, she does not get anywhere near the judge president when we see her later. She is seen coming out of the chamber 1 door, through that same door, without having reached the PJ's office," said Mandosela.
Madonsela also suggested that Tokota got the permission to view the footage from the court manager.
However, Naidoo stressed that the manager did not have the power to exercise such authority, as the power to authorise this is vested in him.