LETTER: JSC’s bias undermines democracy

Your editorial and Nicole Fritz’s related column refer (“Unterhalter’s exclusion puts JSC’s credibility in question”, October 7, and “JSC’s exclusion of eminent lawyers is a travesty”, October 6).       

The controversial decisions by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to exclude David Unterhalter but to recommend a seemingly out-of-her-depth Keitumetse Mogale are the views of a fringe group of bitter black people. These decisions are ill-conceived and show clear racial bias.

The lamentable actions of the JSC should not be confused with employment equity, which advocates black preference and redress, not mediocrity over excellence.

However, the seeds of the bitterness of this fringe group are sadly being sown daily at the big law firms, where it is common knowledge that complex work is allocated to candidate attorneys on racial lines. This ill-conceived practice causes insidious harm to race relations, which manifests in shocking and illogical decisions at the JSC.

An independent, knowledgeable and excellent judiciary should be a pillar of our democracy. The consequences of the unwise decisions of the JSC and racial discrimination at the big law firms are clearly not in the interest of anyone in our country, black or white.

Jeffrey Mothuloe
Montana Park

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