Mbenenge halts impeachment proceedings with interim interdict

The High Court has barred parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa from commencing proceedings pending review of the JSC misconduct findings. Eastern Cape Judge President Selby Mbenenge has secured an interim interdict stopping parliament and President Cyril Ramaphosa from proceeding with impeachment against him. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted the interim interdict on Friday, 31 July. Mbenenge secures interim court order halting impeachment process “Pending the determination of the review relief in Part B, the third [parliament] and fourth [National Assembly] respondents are interdicted and restrained from acting upon the decisions of the first [Judicial Service Commission (JSC)] taken on 5 March 2026, not to proceed with the impeachment proceedings in terms of section 177(1) of the Constitution,” the interim order read. This comes as Mbenenge and his legal team are reviewing and trying to set aside the misconduct findings of the JSC against him. He filed a review application in June. The findings are linked to a sexual harassment complaint lodged by the senior judges’ secretary, Andiswa Mengo. He is the first senior judge in South Africa to face possible impeachment over allegations of sexual misconduct. On Monday, the JSC recommended to Ramaphosa that Mbenenge be suspended. JSC recommended president suspend Judge President The JSC says that in accordance with section 20(1) of the Judicial Service Commission Act, the commission met on 7 July 2026 to review written submissions on whether Mbenenge should be suspended in terms of section 177(3) of the constitution. “At this meeting, the JSC resolved to advise the president to suspend Judge President Mbenenge from his duties pending the decision of the National Assembly as contemplated in section 177 of the Constitution,” the JSC confirmed. Mengo accused Mbenenge of sexually harassing her through WhatsApp messages, inappropriate comments and gestures about her appearance, as well as during an incident in his chambers in November 2022. She also alleged that he had repeatedly asked her to send explicit images and had sent his own in return. Mbenenge has maintained that the interactions were consensual and has denied sending an explicit photograph of himself. In January 2026, the Judicial Conduct Tribunal cleared Mbenenge of gross misconduct, gross incompetence and gross incapacity, but found him guilty of a form of misconduct that would not trigger impeachment. The JSC was then asked to make a final determination on the subject, which resulted in this week’s recommendation. Additional reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde and Enkosi Selane.