Durban — The Magistrates Commission, led by Judge Aubrey Ledwaba is set to start a disciplinary hearing against the senior Pietermaritzburg magistrate Ashin Singh on Monday (today).
Singh, who is on suspension, faces four charges of misconduct for sending messages to Daily Maverick journalist Pierre Arde after he had written a story about his (magistrate) alleged involvement in spying on FeesMustFall activists.
After the story was published, Singh allegedly from his cellphone sent a message to Arde which read: “You are WARNED to make the signed arrested (sic) portion of the affidavit available immediately or NB.”
The Commission alleges that Singh contravened the Code of Judicial Conduct by acting dishonourably and in a manner not befitting the judicial office, adding that his conduct was not compatible with the status of judicial office.
Singh has since dismissed these allegations as false.
The body also added that Singh contravened regulations 25(c) of the Regulations for Judicial Officers in the Lower Courts.
On count two, the Magistrates Commission alleges that Singh contravened the regulations and the Code of Judicial Conduct in that he also sent messages to the managing editor of Amabhungane Same Sole.
According to the charge sheet, which was seen by the Daily News, the Magistrates Commission argued that again from his cellphone, Singh texted Sole where he wrote a concerning WhatsApp message which read: “You have 1 hour grace period before I deal with you like I did … this is your chance to resound to MY ARTICLE in response (sic).”
However, hitting back, Singh denied all the allegations. He accused Judge Ledwaba of having a personal vendetta against him emanating from the interview for the chief magistrate post he (Singh) had applied for and where Judge Ledwaba was the chair of the interview committee.
Singh said Judge Ledwaba refused to make the interview transcript available.
He denied that he made an affidavit and accused Judge Ledwaba of being dishonest. Ledwaba is Deputy Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court and chairs the Magistrates Commission.
“We have stated unequivocally that there is no such affidavit that I made and I was cleared by the very same commission,” said Singh.
Singh has accused Judge Ledwaba, Sole and others of having a questionable relationship.
He has since called for the impeachment of Judge Ledwaba for defeating the ends of justice, fraud and corruption.
In correspondence sent to the Daily News, Singh claims that Amabhungane and the Daily Maverick reported extensively on a non-existent affidavit and that the hearing at the Magistrates Commission is an attempted cover up.
According to the charge sheet that the Daily News has seen, Daily Maverick published the story on July 6 last year which was commissioned and edited by Sole. Messages to their cellphones were sent two days later.
Singh also levelled serious allegations against Judge Ledwaba stating that he paved the way for former president Jacob Zuma’s prosecution by advocate Billy Downer. He revealed that it was also Judge Ledwaba who sealed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s funding records to prevent the exposure of individuals who funded the removal of Zuma.
Further correspondence from Singh stated: “All three will be extensively cross-examined and we want the proceedings to be open to the public and press. Sole has been accused of being an intelligence agent and has attacked Zuma mercilessly over the years while singing Downer’s praises.”
Sole declined to comment and referred questions to the Magistrates Commission.
Daily Maverick was contacted for comment but had not responded by the publication time.
The Commission and Ledwaba also did not respond to a request for comment.
The SAPS was also contacted and did not respond to the publication’s request for comment.
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Daily News