[imagesource: Adrian de Kock, Netwerk24]

The law works in mysterious ways, and Jason Rohde hasn’t given up on fighting for his freedom.

Despite having been found guilty of murdering his wife, Susan, he was still battling away last year, taking on property mogul Lew Geffen.

Now he has his sights set on achieving his freedom, thanks to an ugly spat playing out between two prominent judges.

In short, Western Cape High Court deputy judge president Patricia Goliath has complained to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) about her boss, judge president John Hlophe, and his wife, judge Gayaat Salie-Hlophe.

It was Salie-Hlophe who found Rohde guilty of murder, although he was granted R200 000 bail by the Supreme Court of Appeal whilst he prepares his appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Goliath’s complaints included allegations of verbal and physical abuse, amongst other things, but let’s just stick to how it pertains to Rohde’s case.

Below from TimesLIVE:

Among several serious allegations made by Goliath …was one in which she said the allocation of Salie-Hlophe to hear the Rohde case “raised considerable unhappiness in the division as she was one of the most junior judges”.

Goliath said she had suggested to Hlophe in August 2017 that the Rohde matter be allocated to a senior judge with experience as a criminal lawyer.

“Hlophe disagreed with my suggestion and indicated that he needed time to consider the allocation. Later that same day, he allocated the matter to his wife, Salie-Hlope. I accepted his decision – he is the judge president,” she said.

Even after Salie-Hlope ‘interrogated’ her a week later, seeking support for being allocated the Rohde case, Goliath refused to endorse the decision.

Following that meeting, Hlope himself gave Goliath ‘the silent treatment’, and was generally hostile, she alleges.

This information has given Rohde’s lawyer, Daniel Witz, a glimmer of hope:

[Witz said that] they were considering their course of action following the allegations made in the complaint.

“We’re busy going through the complaint and the report. We’re still going to decide whether firstly we can use it and secondly whether we will use it. We’re just considering everything at the moment,” said Witz.

In other words, they’re preparing to work every angle to try and overturn the conviction against wife killer Rohde.

If you want the lowdown on the battle between Hlope and Goliath, you should stop in here.

Just another day in the South African legal system…

[source:timeslive]