The South African judiciary found itself at a critical crossroads as Judge-President Mbenenge of the Eastern Cape Division faced a sexual harassment tribunal following the allegations by Andiswa Mengo. Beyond the immediate implications for those involved, this case exposes the complex intersections of institutional power, professional relationships, and consent within our justice system.
While public discourse has fixated on the allegations themselves, this case presents us with an opportunity to confront the broader systemic dynamics of gender dynamics in the workplace that influence our interactions, especially within institutions of authority.
Due to its high profile, the case has understandably captured public attention, but its importance extends far beyond the individuals involved or the final judgment. It forces us to reckon with the complexities of consent in hierarchical relationships, the power dynamic embedded in workplaces, and how class inevitably shapes these structures. It also hands us abaton — to unlearn, learn, and relearn.
Public Response and Social Media Discourse
The tribunal proceedings commenced in January 2025, and the public hasn’t minced their reactions, especially on social media.
The reactions were polarised, split between those framing it as “Mjolo went wrong” and those invoking the #MeToo narrative-a familiar battle in cases of workplace harassment.
One X (formerly Twitter) user dismissed the allegations outright: “Mjolo gone wrong, nothing else. Andiswa limenemene, makahambe naye straight uSekhakhane.” (Translation: “Andiswa is a hypocrite; may Sekhakhane get her.”)
A commenter on TimesLIVE aimed at the complainant’s credibility: ''But she has proven not to be a reliable witness when she omitted her kinky messages proving her willing participation.''
On the other side, some are linking this case to the larger issue of Gender-Based Violence(GBV) in workplaces, reinforcing the stance that victims should be believed first. A Facebook user wrote: “Big up for opening the case; all ladies who are being sexually abused at work by male coworkers must open cases. It’s wrong behaviour that must be condemned.”
At the same time, some critics of the judiciary expressed their outrage, with one comment urging the impeachment of the judge: ''The judge must be impeached. He is a disgrace and indicative of the culture of those in higher offices, like in municipalities and other entities in South Africa.''
This public divide is not new. It echoes previous high-profile cases where victim-blaming and power dynamics have clashed with the demand for accountability and change. The ongoing commentary speaks to the deeply entrenched societal tensions and norms that continue to undermine meaningful progress in tackling workplace harassment and gender-based violence.
Understanding Consent: Beyond a simple ‘Yes’’ and ‘’Let's start by defining ''sexual consent''.
Sexual consent is considered to be an agreement to engage in sexual activity (Bres, 2007; Muehlenhard et al., 2016). Further, it means giving a clear, voluntary, and informed agreement that is not always a simple ''yes'' or ''no.''
There must be a willingness and an ongoing agreement (Fletcher-Lloyd, Podder, & Saunders, 2022). As Sylvia Tamale explains in her book Decolonization and Afro-Feminism, specifically in the chapter. ''Challenging the Coloniality of Sex, Gender and Sexuality, argues that in professional environments where power relations are at play, consent needs to be considered through a broader lens that takes institutional power, cultural dynamics, and economic positioning into account. Inter-relations of consent and power.
The Mbenenge tribunal case compels us to have a critical discussion about gender, power, and consent. More importantly, it pushes us to ask: 'Can consent ever be truly free when one person holds the cards over opportunities, career advancement, and, in many cases, survival?'
''On one hand, the judge asserts that their interactions were mutually agreed upon; on the other, the complainant describes a dynamic where hierarchy created coercion. This raises a crucial question - when there is a clear imbalance of power and authority, how do we untangle what is freely given from what is subtly coerced?
Interestingly, the South African Commission for Gender Equality's report for 2023 emphasises that in professional spaces, consent is influenced by factors beyond verbal consent - economic dependence, career progression, and institutional culture all have an impact.
Similarly, Mail & Guardian's 2023 article explores medical misconduct cases and how authority figures can blur the lines between agreement and coercion. These power dynamics create fertile ground for more explicit forms of sexual coercion in professional spaces. Sextortion: A low bar for consent. One particularly concerning manifestation of this power imbalance is sextortion, where sexual favours become an invisible currency in what essentially amounts to a form of corruption. While sextortion operates in the same realm as bribery, the use of sexual favours as currency makes it far more insidious.
In her article ''Sextortion as a form of corruption'' published by the Commission for Gender Equality in 2024, Kelebogile Aplane argues that exploitation of women disproportionately targets them - a direct violation of the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act, which explicitly defines consent as an uncoerced and voluntary agreement, this form of exploitation exploits women's vulnerability and systemic power imbalances to coerce compliance.
According to A Plane, sextortion inhibits bodily autonomy, making both resisting and reporting it more difficult. Consequently, systemic exploitation is further entrenched by the insidious nature of these power imbalances. This Mbenenge case, like other cases before it, underscores the complexity of consent in hierarchical spaces. How do institutions navigate these nuances without defaulting to oversimplified notions of right and wrong?
These are the broader questions that extend beyond this case, demanding a deeper reflection on power and responsibility in professional environments.
The Broader Context: Structural InequalityIt would be a grave injustice to view gender-based violence as an isolated social issue. SouthAfrica's reality reveals how deeply these violations are rooted in structural inequalities that shape our society. Tamale (2020) analyses gender-based violence in professional spaces as a reflection of the broader system of power that has shaped post-apartheid South Africa.
Furthermore, the SAPS crime stats reveal a sobering reality for women in South Africa. Between July and September 2023, 10,516 rapes were reported - an average of 114 per day. While overall sexual offences saw a slight decline, attempted sexual offences rose by 4.3%, proving the threat remains - violence against women-especially against women in economic hardship and social inequality also on the rise.
Granted, the Mbenenge tribunal case involves professionals operating in esteemed spaces, it is a glimpse into a deeper wound in our society. The CGE's 2023 report found that 68% of workplace harassment cases involve women in positions of economic vulnerability, with Black women accounting for 75% of reported cases, and taking into cognizant that for every case reported another is silenced, nonetheless - these numbers are a further revelation of the brunt of harassment cases leaving vulnerable groups to choose between reporting sexual harassment and putting bread on the table.
Conclusion: A collective effort given all this, we do not examine this case in isolation, it exists within a society deeply shaped by inequality. Yet, despite these realities, this moment presents us with an opportunity to exercise our agency in shaping public discourse.
The greatest pandemic we face as a country is not just gender-based violence but also misinformation, apathy, and a dangerous reluctance to engage, well that is until the issue reaches us or someone we care about.
We simply cannot afford to view concepts like gender, power, and consent as abstract or removed from our daily lives. For every statistic of gender-based violence, we witness a missed opportunity - a failure to educate and to inform.
The responsibility to create awareness cannot be outsourced - it is ours to carry. In a digital age where we have access to a plethora of information, we must use the tools we have to deepen our understanding and confront harmful narratives.
Whatever the tribunal's final ruling may be, this case has offered us more than a legal outcome - it provided an opportunity to reflect, and question. Lastly, unpack what consent, power, and accountability truly mean in our society. The question is whether we will take it.
Aphelele Mtwecu is a member of the Activate Change Drivers Network and a 2016 Activator. She is a 33-year-old ambivert who works as a content writer, activist, and creative.