South Africa's Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng found guilty

Former South Africa Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng  has been found guilty for defying Judge Mojapelo's Judicial Conduct Committee decision ordering him to unconditionally apologise and retract his pro-Israel views made in June 2020.

Justice Mogoeng had told a webinar organised by The Jerusalem Post that he was 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. 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," he said at the time.

Mojapelo then ordered Mogoeng to read his unconditional apology and retraction for his pro-Israel comments in a meeting of all serving Constitutional Court justices and publicly release it.

However, in his two responses to the complaints against him lodged by #Africa4Palestine, the South African BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) Coalition and the Women's Cultural Group, Mogoeng insisted that there was no constitutional value he undermined in his utterances.

"The Israeli-Palestine politics or issues are not an integral part of South African politics … They are peripheral and not inherently South African in character, although they deserve the attention of South Africa," he responded to the complaints.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Secretariat of the Judicial Conduct Committee said:

The Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee's decision on the appeal by former Chief Justice Mogoeng on complaints by Africa4Palestine, SABDS Coalition and Women's Cultural Group

1. Today, 20 January 2022, the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee (Committee) has, by a majority decision (Justice D H Zondi and Justice N Dambuza), decided in terms of section 18 (4) (c)(Q1) of the Judicial Service Commission Act, 1994 to confirm Mojapelo DJP's findings that Chief Justice Mogoeng breached Article 12(1)(b) of the Judicial Code of Conduct (Code), in that he, through his utterances, involved himself in political controversy. The Committee further found that Chief Justice Mogoeng breached Article 14(2)(a) of the Code of Judicial Conduct in that he was involved in extra-judicial activities which are incompatible with the confidence in and the impartiality of Judges.

2. The Committee did uphold Chief Justice Mogoeng's grounds of appeal against Mojapelo DJP's findings that he had breached Articles 12(1)(d), 14(1) and 14(3)(a) of the Code.

3. Pursuant to this decision, the Committee, by a majority directed that Chief Justice Mogoeng should issue an unconditional apology for becoming involved in political controversy through his utterances at the online seminar (webinar) hosted by the Jerusalem Post on 23 June 2020. A copy of the apology must be released by Chief Justice Mogoeng to the Office of the Chief Justice and the media within 10 days of this decision.

4. Judge Victor, the third member of the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee penned a minority decision in which she would have upheld the appeal in its entirety, setting aside the findings of Mojapelo DJP and the remedial action that flowed therefrom.