Bribery complaint against acting judge hits quorum snag at JCC

Committee chaired by Chief Justice said members who previously considered the matter were disqualified from hearing it further. The determination of a bribery complaint against an acting high court judge has hit a snag after the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) ruled that members who previously considered the matter were disqualified from hearing it further. In a ruling on 19 October, which The Citizen has seen, the committee said the disqualification of members involved in two earlier decisions had left it without the minimum quorum required to rule on the complaint. Determination of bribery complaint hit snag The decisions concerned whether there was a prima facie case for the judge to answer and whether the allegations should be referred to a judicial tribunal. Acting Judge Samuel Makamu allegedly solicited and took a R5 000 bribe in exchange for a favourable leave-to-appeal ruling. The complaint was lodged in August 2025 by businessman and lawyer Bouwe Wiersma, who claims the acting judge handed down a ruling against him. The committee, chaired by Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, said the affected members could no longer participate because their previous decisions raised the question whether they could approach the outstanding issues with an open mind. “The committee unanimously came to the conclusion that members who made the first and second rulings are disqualified from the matter,” the ruling said. Affected members had to withdraw The committee said the legal consequence was that the affected members had to withdraw, leaving only one member eligible to participate in the consideration of the complaint. This left only two committee members, including the chief justice, qualified to decide the matter, which is short of the prescribed quorum of at least three members. According to the ruling, Maya had the power to appoint temporary members to the committee, enabling it to convene a properly constituted meeting. “The current complaint must be postponed to a date to be fixed once the appointment referred to above is made,” the committee said.