Race bias alleged in dispute over trial judges

It notes NPA prosecutors claim Sangoni is holding back on allocating judges to the criminal courts, while Sangoni said appointing judges before criminal trials are allocated would allow 'forum shopping' - getting certain judges to hear certain trials. The report adds Sangoni went on the offensive in an interview in his office attended by two other senior judges from the Grahamstown Bench, saying that NPA Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions (DDPPs) responsible for criminal rolls - Malherbe Marais and Buks Coetzee - wanted to see a list of judges allocated to the criminal courts before confirming cases. While Sangoni expressed disquiet that provincial NPA boss Lungi Mahlati had not done enough to resolve the issue, the NPA has denied any dispute with the Judge President. 'If you say I must allow the (DDPPs) to choose their judges as they please, I don't think that is correct,' Sangoni is reported to have said. And while Sangoni did not go so far as to suggest a racial bias behind the forum shopping, two black senior advocates in the province said this development mimics the practice of referring civil disputes to private white arbitrators to circumvent sitting black judges. Full Daily Dispatch report (subscription needed)