By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE: Chief Justice(CJ) Bheki Maphalala’s court case where he was being challenged for allegedly influencing the Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP) to jail Master of the High Court employee Fezile Matsebula for an alleged domestic violence charge has been removed from the court-roll.

The CJ was taken to court by the Master of the High Court employee who accused him of having sex with his wife Tengetile Dlamini, a police officer who works with the CJ.

It is alleged that, after Matsebula ‘caught’ and/or find out that his wife was allegedly having sex with CJ Maphalala, he assaulted her and was subsequently arrested and found guilty by the Magistrate Court with a option of a fine.

But the CJ who was allegedly having an interest in seeing Matsebula behind bars so he can continue without any disturbance to have sex with Matsebula’s wife, allegedly instructed the DPP’s office to file for a review of the sentence at the High Court.

This was stoped by Matsebula who filed an urgent application seeking to force the CJ to recuse himself from the matter and refrain from appointing a Judge who will preside over the case, the Master of the Court employee wanted the court to direct a senior Judge of the Supreme Court to exercise the functions of Maphalala with regards to the matter.

“An order declaring the Review proceedings against sentence in terms of Section 81 of the Magistrate’s Court Act No 66 of 1938, under High Court Criminal Review Case No 607/2023(the Review”) before this Honorable Court is being inconsistent with the right to a fair hearing enshrined in Section 21 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini No 001 of 2005(“the Constitution) unlawful and unconstitutional.The 2nd Respondent be and is hereby interdicted from exercising any of his functions in respect of the Review, including but not limited to, empaneling a Judge to hear the Review allocation of a hearing date for the Review”, reads the court papers in part filed by the Master of the High Court employee.

The case that was before Judge Bongie Magagula was subsequently removed from the court-roll and this, means the applications for the review of the sentence filed by the DPP and Matsebula have been halted.