Judicial tug of war rages
Mpho Mokwape | Monday September 12, 2022 06:00
It has been a downhill battle since judge Ketlogetswe accused the CJ of judicial interference in a case involving Member of Parliament for Lobatse Dr Thapelo Matsheka and subsequently reported him to President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Now, in an exchange of strong words, Ketlogetswe accuses the CJ of character assassination instead of dealing with the judicial issues at hand while Justice Rannowane claims Justice Ketlogetswe is "deceitful and irresponsible".
According to what’s contained in judge Ketlogetswe’s letter to Masisi about CJ’s conduct, he says it was never his intention to be personal with Justice Rannowane until he realised how he wanted to play out the whole issue.
“I feel constrained to respond to each and every allegation he makes against me. It has never been my intention to be personal with him. But I am appalled that CJ could find it proper to stoop so low and attack a colleague’s character without any due self-restraint,” he said.
Ketlogetswe explained that he was at a great loss for words that a Chief Justice could really want to attack the character of a judge by referencing matters out of their reasonable context and which are personal, not judicial.
He pointed out that CJ did all this to make the person attacked appear blacker than he was and that, assuming he was that black.
“For me, it was however, not coming as a surprise that CJ would, when under pressure and faced with real issues, decide to say things which will leave one in complete astonishment,” said Ketlogetswe.
Judge Ketlogetswe emphasised that since CJ has called on the President to consider personal character as a relevant consideration, he too will reveal his (CJ's) character.
He said: “The CJ has on many occasions showed his propensity to create an unpleasant situation and when called upon to account he resorts to being unfairly ad unjustifiably irritable. It is to help the President understand why CJ, instead of dealing with issues at hand, has resorted to character assassination,”
Justice Ketlogetswe noted that it was how the CJ buckles when under pressure and he finds himself in short supply of a reasonable explanation for his conduct and that he was willing to go on oath to give details of CJ’s conduct.
Judge Ketlogetswe further said he was not surprised that CJ denied the things he had said to him, now that he realised that he has taken them with the seriousness that they deserve and that he could not fathom a situation whereby the outcome of cases can be a result of a simple phone call from CJ or a minister of government to a judge handling a case.
“That will be a sad day in our justice system. I would not wish that on anybody, regardless of the nature of the offence or their stature in society. We should all jealously guard against contamination of our justice system whether wittingly or unwittingly. I am a firm believer in justice,” he said.
Ketlogetswe acknowledged that he was the first to call CJ in the late afternoon of August 5 after having been told that he had an urgent application concerning Matsheka.
He explained that the call was not only a courteous one but also on the basis that the matter could attract public attention and also large numbers of people.
“It was just to put him in the know, just in case the crowd became an issue. The call was purely administrative. What he is doing now, attacking my character and being personal, is really embarrassing,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CJ in response said it was never his intention to character assassinate judge Ketlogetswe but was only trying to show that he was a deceitful and irresponsible judge who thrives in conflict, disharmony, and constantly seeks confrontation.
He explained that the President should understand the type of person they are dealing with especially if he does not get his way.
“Judge Ketlogetswe is a very deceitful and confrontational judge. He thrives where there are conflicts,” he said.
The CJ said there was never a time he wanted to interfere with Ketlogetswe's work but he was merely concerned about his security and that all he said about him interfering was all lies since he was even the one who was bombarding him with calls, messages and updates.
He said it was not true to claim that he was the one bothering him with calls because almost all the calls they had between them were instigated by him and that his phone record shows that he was always the one calling and that if he missed his calls, he would call back.
Rannowane pointed out that he was putting it on record that he never tried to influence judge Ketlogetswe to unlawfully detain Matsheka and that he was even feeling uncomfortable that he would continually bombard him with unsolicited updates when he was enjoying his weekend.