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Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
- Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has defended his controversial sentence on Covid-19 vaccines.
- A legal expert has described the Chief Justice as a “reverent and religious man, who has held talks about his passion, religion and dedication to his faith.”
- But Alison Tilley of Judges Matter says that judges should speak primarily through their judgments, as reflected in the code of conduct.
While Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng continues to receive criticism for praying for the Covid-19 vaccine, a legal expert has described the judge as a “religious and reverent man, who has spoken of his passion, religion, and dedication to his faith.” .
Speaking to News24 on Friday, defender Deon Pool said: “Sometimes there must be a little bit of differentiation between the man and the office. I hear what he says, he is a leader of our community, he is the president of the Supreme Court of this country. and that’s their point of view. In my opinion, that doesn’t indicate anything legal or a particular provision that indicates something legal. “
“The judge has been very clear about how dedicated he is to his faith and how passionate he is about it. I think it should be noted that he is someone who professes his faith in a very reverent and passionate way.”
In his sentence, the Chief Justice said that any Covid-19 vaccine that was “from the devil” should be destroyed.
“I block any vaccine that is not yours.”
“If there is any vaccine that is from the devil, intended to infuse triple six into people’s lives, intended to corrupt their DNA, any vaccine, Lord Almighty God, that is destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.”
He spoke during a thanksgiving ceremony at Tembisa Hospital, which was televised by SABC.
On Friday, at a press conference to unpack the 2019/20 Judicial Annual Report, Mogoeng was asked about his views on vaccines and the consequences of social media after his prayer.
The Chief Justice replied that he was not following the trends on Twitter.
He said:
“Honestly, I pay very little attention to the media. I don’t know if people honestly misunderstood what I said, or deliberately misinterpreted what I said.”
“I said, if there is any vaccine manufactured to promote a satanic agenda, of the mark of the beast, 666, or if there is any vaccine manufactured for the purpose of corrupting people’s DNA, that vaccine must be burned. God must intervene and wreck it! “
“If people are supporting a satanic agenda, they must tell us why. If they want us to have the 666 mark, they must tell us why.”
Mogoeng said he acknowledged that “not all vaccines advance on that agenda.”
But Judges Matter campaign coordinator Alison Tilley said judges should speak primarily through their judgments, as reflected in the code of conduct.
She said:
“There is a reason for that. They know the law but are not experts in other areas. Each time [the] CJ (Chief Justice) does this, it undermines the respect people have for the judiciary. It is not the prayer as such, of course you can pray, but the controversial contexts. “
However, Pool said he did not see Mogoeng’s comments as “crossing the line” and added that the Chief Justice “always scoffed at the fact that he was very religious and dedicated to his faith. It is what it is.” .
“He has made it very clear in the past how he sees things and to what extent his faith influences the world around him and his world personally,” Pool added.
Another legal expert, Professor Retselisitsoe Moses Phooko from the University of Johannesburg, weighed in on the matter, saying that the judge had the right to pray in any way he sees fit. He said that everyone in South Africa had the right to freedom of expression, including the right to practice freedom of religion.
Phooko, however, added that one must be “very cautious”, especially when holding a position such as Chief Justice.
READ | Government Warns of Covid-19 Vaccine Misinformation Amid Mogoeng Comments
He said one had to be responsible, “whether you are praying or exercising that freedom of expression when faced with a global crisis like this and [especially] something the global community is still struggling to identify a cure [for]”.
‘Undermining medical science’
Meanwhile, human rights organization # Africa4Palestine criticized Mogoeng’s comments, saying that he intended to file a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), News24 reported.
In a statement released on Friday, # Africa4Palestine said: “We believe that the latest comments by the Chief Justice undermined medical science and South Africa’s position on vaccine distribution.”
He said when calling certain vaccines “666” or the “devil’s vaccines”, [Mogoeng] it was undermining not only medical science, but it was also contradicting the government’s position on vaccines.
“We are confident that such outlandish fanatical speech and denial of medical science during a pandemic is a violation of the JSC code of conduct, which explicitly urges judges to refrain from such controversies.”
The organization added:
“While we acknowledge the previous judgments of Judge Mogoeng and the important role that he has played in our judiciary, we are of the firm opinion that his position requires him to respect international law, respect medical science, [and] not interfere in South Africa’s national and international relations or health policies. “
The organization previously filed a complaint with the JSC against Mogoeng, following his statements regarding Israel. JSC Seal Chiloane spokesperson told News24 that the complaint was still in the judicial conduct committee.
