The Black Lawyers Association has ”questioned the wisdom” of Cape High Court Judge Wilfred Thring’s decision to place correspondence between him and the office of the Chief Justice relating to racism in the judiciary in the public domain.
The Cape Times reported that Judge Thring had placed all correspondence relating to the festering race row in the Cape Division in the national state archives. This had made the documents public.
The Cape Division’s judge president, John Hlophe, has been accused of telling colleagues that he gave Judge Thring a sensitive case knowing he would ”fuck it up” and his ruling would be overturned on appeal. The purpose was allegedly to provide ”a lesson in transformation”.
The matter was referred to a Heads of Courts meeting earlier this month. After the meeting, Chief Justice Pius Langa announced that no further action would be taken in relation to the racism accusations because all parties involved had agreed to withdraw their affidavits.
BLA president Muzi Msimang said Judge Thring’s move was unprecedented and the organisation ”wondered what his motives” were.
”Though we don’t know what it is that he is seeking, we don’t think that he is promoting the harmonious relations that the Chief Justice is trying to engender,” said Msimang.
According to the Cape Times, Judge Thring’s archived papers include a letter to former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson referring to Judge Hlope’s ”exaggerated” feelings of resentment and humiliation in relation to him, which, he says, he does not understand.
He adds that Judge Hlope’s perceptions of white racism in the Cape division are ”less real than imagined” and warns that they risk becoming a ”self-fulfilling and self-perpetuating paranoia”.
Explaining his decision to archive the correspondence in a letter to Judge Langa this week, he refers to ”unfounded accusations publicly brought against him”. His decision to post them in the archives was a way of ensuring that ”others who may one day be interested in ascertaining the truth … may be able to do so”.
He had ”no intention of going down in history as the judge who was publicly accused by his judge president of overt racism”.
The office of the Chief Justice said Judge Langa was not available for comment. Judges Hlophe and Thring’s offices said both had left instructions that they would not comment.