Eastern Cape High Court Judge Belinda Hartle has been suspended as a Judicial Conduct Tribunal pending a probe into allegations of incapacity, gross incompetence and gross misconduct against her.

• Eastern Cape High Court Judge Belinda Hartle has been suspended as a Judicial Conduct Tribunal prepares to probe allegations of incapacity, gross incompetence and gross misconduct against her.
• The suspension follows a complaint by court official Thozamile Semekazi, who alleges Hartle verbally abused him over a delay in file delivery, repeatedly using expletives and the racial slur “k****r”
• Hartle denied using the racial slur and called the complaint a “gross misrepresentation”, and will remain suspended until the complaint is finalised.

Eastern Cape High Court Judge Belinda Hartle has been suspended as a Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) prepares to probe allegations of “incapacity, gross incompetence, and gross misconduct” against her.

The suspension on Friday comes after Hartle was accused by court official Thozamile Semekazi of verbally abusing him, humiliating him, and using the “k-word“ in the presence of himself and the judge’s secretary.

Hartle disputed ever having used the racial slur, and alleged that the complaint “constitutes an attempt to undermine her work and destroy her”.

“After considering the [written] submissions of the parties, the commission resolved that it is desirable that Judge Hartle be suspended from office,” the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said in a statement.

A JCT is established by and operates under the authority of the JSC.

READ | Eastern Cape judge suspended pending tribunal over racial slur, misconduct allegations

Hartle will be allowed to finish her part-heard cases and complete her reserved judgments during her suspension.

“The commission has directed that the head of court in the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court take reasonable measures to minimise interaction between Judge Hartle and Mr Semekazi during the period of suspension,” the JSC said in its statement.

The suspension will remain in place until the complaint against her is finalised.

According to Semekazi’s complaint, as detailed in a December 2025 Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) ruling, Hartle was irritated by a delay in the delivery of court files and, without asking for an explanation, allegedly directed a torrent of abuse at him.

This included saying “F**k You” and “p*ss man” repeatedly, and the phrase “I am tired of Mafalala’s staff, bloody f*****g K****r”.

The three-member JCC panel comprised Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo, retired Constitutional Court Justice Chris Jafta, and retired Supreme Court of Appeal Justice Halima Saldulker.

The panel found that, should the allegations be proven true, they would amount to gross misconduct on Hartle’s part.

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She denied using the k-word and disputed Semekazi’s version of events.

The JCC ruling said Hartle acknowledged using a single expletive, but that it was not directed at Semekazi and that she apologised to him immediately.

She described his complaint as a “gross misrepresentation” of their interaction and accused him of laying a “bogus criminal charge” against her.

Adding to the case’s complexity, Semekazi was previously named in a corruption investigation into alleged bribery at the Mthatha High Court, conducted by the Southern Africa Accountability Journalism Project.

That investigation, co-authored by the judge’s husband, Ray Hartle, accused Semekazi of soliciting bribes for filing court documents, an allegation he denied.