POLOKWANE- Limpopo Judge President Moletjie Phatudi has filed an appeal against a previous misconduct finding relating to a case he presided over involving a former client he had represented twice in 2013.

The appeal has temporarily suspended the consequences of the earlier judgment, keeping the spotlight on Phatudi’s integrity and raising discussion within legal circles and the broader community.

Three senior Polokwane-based legal counsels, speaking anonymously for fear of victimisation, said the appeal is unlikely to tarnish Phatudi’s decades-long judicial career.

They highlighted that his involvement in the case was limited to procedural stages, with the substantive issues referred to open court, and noted that parties may have effectively abandoned any application for his recusal.

Retired Constitutional Court Judge Justice Chris Jafta had previously reprimanded Phatudi, ordering him to issue a written apology to Adv Shadrack Thebeile.

Senior lawyers, however, argue that the suspended order and the appeal indicate that Phatudi’s reputation as a jurist and leader of the province’s judges remains largely intact.

Despite public interest, the Judicial Service Commission had not provided comment at the time of going to print, and Phatudi did not respond to requests for a right of reply.