Portia Phahlane, the Pretoria high court judge accused of accepting a bribe to make a favourable ruling in a long-standing church succession battle, has been placed on special leave with immediate effect following her court appearance.
Phahlane, her son Kagiso, Vusi Ndala and Michael Sandlana, the leader of one faction of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, appeared at the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on charges of corruption and money laundering on Wednesday.
Following her appearance in court, chief justice Mandisa Maya announced that Phahlane will be placed on leave.
Judge Phahlane will be granted special leave with immediate effect pending finalisation of the criminal proceedings against her while the process of her suspension from duty is being considered.
— Statement from chief justice Mandisa Maya’s office
“Judge Phahlane will be granted special leave with immediate effect pending finalisation of the criminal proceedings against her while the process of her suspension from duty is being considered,” read the statement from Maya’s office.
The statement added that measures will be put in place to ensure that the running of cases assigned for adjudication by Phahlane is not disrupted as far as possible to safeguard continuity and justice for affected litigants.
The prosecutor, Adv Willem van Zyl, said on Wednesday in court that investigations had revealed that several meetings were facilitated by an interpreter of the high court who is a member of the church.
Van Zyl added that the court interpreter also received gratification of about R179,000 made on several occasions, either when she collected money for Phahlane or during meetings.
Phahlane is out on R50,000 bail and is barred from entering Pretoria high court premises.
Sowetan
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