The Judicial Conduct Committee is investigating claims an acting judge solicited a bribe to influence a leave to appeal ruling.
The Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) is investigating allegations that an acting Johannesburg high court judge solicited and received a R5 000 bribe to swing a leave to appeal ruling in favour of an applicant.
Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judge Halima Saldulker has been appointed to probe the allegations against acting judge Samuel Makamu in a complaint lodged by businessman and lawyer Bouwe Wiersma in August last year.
Sanelisiwe Mthombeni from the office of the chief justice informed the complainant in a letter dated 23 December 2025, that she had been directed by deputy chief justice Dunstan Mlambo to advise him that “justice Saldulker has been designated to determine the merits of the complaint…”
Acting judge faces investigation
According to the complaint to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Wiersma alleges that the judge had initially requested R7 000 to grant leave to appeal an eviction order.
WhatsApp messages and bank records submitted as evidence allegedly show a payment to an account held by the judge’s nephew.
Wiersma claimed that despite the payment, the judge dismissed the application with costs and that he paid to “entrap the judge and expose corruption within the judiciary”.
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Detailing the chronological flow of events leading to the alleged bribery, Wiersma said on 6 August last year, two days after he had been slapped with an eviction order, he received a call from an individual claiming to be calling from Makamu’s office.
The individual, who identified themself as the judge’s secretary, allegedly offered to grant a leave to appeal the eviction. Makamu allegedly called Wiersma the following day directly from his private cellphone.
In his statement, Wiersma claimed the judge initially asked for R7 000, but the amount was later reduced to R5 000. It was allegedly paid on 17 August into a Capitec account belonging to the judge’s nephew.
Alleged bribe framed as contribution to nephew’s fees
In WhatsApp messages, the judge allegedly framed the request for the bribe as a contribution towards his nephew’s university fees.
Despite the alleged bribe, the judge still dismissed Wiersma’s leave to appeal, with costs.
Makamu could not be reached for comment and had not replied to text messages at the time of publishing.
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Advocate Sesi Baloyi, JSC spokesperson confirmed the investigation.
The complainant said he was thankful the investigation will be handled by a reputable SCA judge.
Wiersma said this process was new to him and that he was waiting to see how the inquiry will be conducted, particularly as it will follow an inquisitorial approach, rather than adversarial.
SCA judge appointed for inquiry
“The JCC confirmed there is a prima facie case and now appointed a judge of the SCA for an inquiry.
“It is also new to me and I await their mode of inquisitorial manner as there is no onus to prove or to disprove, so it would be interesting,” Wiersma said.
