MBABANE: Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala earns over One Hundred Thousand Rands(R100,000.00) monthly salary but the Head of the Judiciary is financially struggling and vulnerable to selling justice to the rich and powerful.
Documentary evidence in our possession suggests that Chief Justice Bheki M. Maphalala with Government employee number 7102969 applied for a salary advance of Thirty Thousand Rands(R30,000.00) after facing serious financial challenges, Government is deducting Ten Thousand Rands(R10,000.00)every month.
According to the documents, the CJ receives a basic monthly salary of Seventy Five Thousand,Two Hundred and Forty Two Rands, Sixty Seven Cents(R75,242.67), a recruitment and retention allowance of Seven Thousand,
Five Hundred and Twenty Four Rands, Twenty-Seven Cents(R7,524.27), a house allowance of Fifteen Thousand and Forty-Eight Rands, Fifty-Three Cents(R15048.53) and an entertainment allowance of Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Sixty two Rands,Thirteen Cents (R3762.13).
The gross payment of the Chief Justice is One Hundred and One Thousand, Five Hundred and Seventy-Seven Rands, Sixty cents(R101,577.60), he is currently re-paying a salary advance of Thirty Thousand Rands(R30,000.00) in Ten Thousand Rands(R10,000.00) monthly installments.
It has been disclosed through the documents that the Chief Justice also pays income tax of Thirty Thousand and Fifty-Four Rands, Ten Cents(R30,054.10) , a Government Pension of Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Sixty-two Rands, Thirteen cents(R3762.13) and a Graded Tax of One Rand, Fifty Cents(R1.50).
An independent investigation conducted by this Swaziland News uncovered that even though the Chief Justice earns a Nett Salary of Fifty Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty Nine Rands, Eighty Seven Cents(R57,769.87), the Head of the Judiciary is broke as his money is consumed by bank stop-orders hence the application for a salary advance.
A questionnaire was sent to the Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
“Good day Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala. We are in possession of documents including your payslip reflecting that you are paying a salary advance at R10,000.00 per month and that you are in huge debts. Doesn’t that compromise your duties as a Judge such that you might be tempted to sell justice to the rich and powerful?” reads the questionnaire in part sent to the Chief Justice.
Mandla Mkhwanazi, the then President of the Law Society of Swaziland(LSS) once revealed that justice was for sale within the Judiciary, however, this was vigorously disputed by the Chief Justice who demanded evidence substantiating the allegations.
Reached for comments, highly regarded human rights lawyer Sibusiso Nhlabatsi advised the Chief Justice to negotiate with his employer for a better salary since the current one doesn’t sustain his monthly needs.
The lawyer said Judges must be well-paid to avoid a situation where they might find themselves negotiating for loans from money-lending companies that might need a favour in return.
“Maybe I would advise him to negotiate with his employer for a better salary if the money he is earning now does not meet his daily or monthly needs, he must negotiate for better terms and conditions of service. This is important because if he would constantly be in debt, there is a huge risk that he might be tempted. Judges must be well-paid so that they cannot fall on the temptation of approaching money-lending companies because by so doing, those who are borrowing them money might ask for a favour and the Judge might be compromised”, said the human rights lawyer.
Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala recently interfered with the independence of the Supreme Court Judges in the bail appeal of pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MPs) Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube.
The MPs were arrested allegedly, by King Mswati, they are facing politically motivated terrorism charges.
Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala