Cameron rejects claims he's soft on rapists

But Cameron hit back at the criticism levelled against him by Ngalwana, telling the Judicial Service Commission on Friday that many of the complaints against him were distorted and inaccurate. In a 22-page submission to the commission, which interviewed five judges for the Constitutional Court seat due to be vacated by Justice Tholakele Madala, Ngalwana said it would be a 'grave mistake... at this stage' for Cameron to get the job. According to a report in The Star, Ngalwana took issue with the prospect of Cameron's appointment on the basis of certain of his rulings, as well as his 'public address on the issue of HIV/AIDS'. In one of Ngalwana's complaints, he criticised Cameron for agreeing that 29-year-old rapist Nhlanhla Nkomo's life sentence be reduced to 16 years - despite the fact that he had dragged his terrified victim back to a hotel room for further abuse after she had jumped out of a second-floor window to escape him and broke her ankle. While admitting that Nkomo's rape was 'horrendous', Cameron explained he agreed with fellow SCA Judge Carole Lewis that the rapist, who had a 'good career' as a truck driver, could still have a good life ahead of him. Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Lindiwe Hendricks asked Cameron to 'disabuse me that you are soft on rapists'. Pointing to rulings where he had in fact increased a rapist's sentence, the judge responded: 'I don't think I am soft on rapists at all.' Durban High Court Judge Leona Theron, Cape High Court Judge Shanaaz Meer, Johannesburg High Court Judge Nigel Willis and Pretoria High Court Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann were also interviewed for the vacancy. Full report in The Star