JSC recommends suspension of judge

The JSC has recommended the suspension of senior Free State Judge Shamir Ebrahim while investigations are pending against her, says a Volksblad report. The JSC’s Dumisa Ntsebeza confirmed the recommendation is with President Jacob Zuma. Ebrahim is accused of not declaring her financial interests as required by all judges. The report notes that other complaints apparently include dereliction of duty and disregarding an earlier instruction from the then acting Judge-President. Ebrahim allegedly refused at times to hear urgent applications and could not get along with registrars, says Volksblad. In 2014, her colleagues granted an eviction order against her, which she also ignored until the Sheriff had to force her out of her rented house in Bloemfontein. The spectacle was seen as embarrassing for the judiciary, and her colleagues complained. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has notified Zuma of his intention to institute a disciplinary tribunal to hear the financial declaration complaint against Ebrahim. The JSC declined to comment on the status of the other complaints.