Complaint to Chief Justice alleges secret hearing, unlawful arrest order, and calls for impeachment under Section 158 of the Constitution.
BUSINESSMAN Issufo Calu has lodged a 142-page complaint against Judge Titus Mlangeni, which he addressed to Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala.
The voluminous document, which contains allegations of what Calu described as serious misbehaviour by the judge, was served to the ministry of justice, the chief justice, and the attorney general’s office yesterday, as confirmed by official date stamps on the copies and signatures.
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Calu, acting in his capacity as director of Ncamase Investments (Pty) Ltd, said the complaint was lodged in terms of Section 158 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, 2005.
According to the document, the complaint centres on two main allegations, that Justice Mlangeni allegedly heard an opposed application against Ncamase at the request of Galp, without notifying or inviting Ncamase to the hearing and without the matter being heard in open court. The hearing, Calu alleges, resulted in a final order being granted against Ncamase in its absence.
The other main concern was that Justice Mlangeni allegedly issued an order for Calu’s arrest and incarceration based on an application that had not been issued by the registrar and in which such an order had not been sought.
Calu claimed that the alleged conduct amounted to serious judicial misconduct warranting impeachment and removal from office. “The conduct of the judge was unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, corrupt, a violation of the judge’s code of ethics, a violation of his oath of office, abuse of power and office,” the complaint stated.
The businessman contended that the actions of Justice Mlangeni could not be explained as an error or a wrong judicial decision, but as involvement in illegal and corrupt activities inconsistent with the office of a judge of the superior courts.
He alleged that the proceedings from start to finish, beginning with the alleged secret hearing and ending with the arrest order were marked by disregard for the law, abuse of power, violation of constitutional rights and failure to act impartially and ethically.
The complaint called for the matter to be dealt with under Section 158 of the Constitution, which outlines the process for handling allegations of serious misbehaviour by judges.
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