Judge Nkola Motata has avoided impeachment but was ordered by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to pay a fine of R1,15m.
The fine is equivalent to 12 months of his net salary and is payable over 24 months to the SA Judicial Education Institute.
The escape from impeachment also means that Motata, who is now retired, can continue receiving his pension and retain his title.
He was found guilty of the lesser offence of misconduct and not gross misconduct in relation to racist utterances.
Had he been impeached, Motata would have been the first judge to undergo the lengthy process in post-apartheid SA.
The JSC order is the final consequence of a 2007 incident in which the judge knocked down the wall of a house in Hurlingham. He was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol following a criminal trial. An appeal was dismissed.
Since then the JSC had received complaints from different quarters to take action against the judge. Two charges were laid against him for racist remarks at the scene of the accident and that he misled the court during the criminal trial. The Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) recommended to the JSC that the matter be referred to parliament so that impeachment proceedings could start.
On Thursday evening the majority of the JSC members rejected the JCT recommendation that Motata was guilty of gross misconduct in both complaints.
The majority of the JSC said it was not necessary to revisit the criminal conviction and the reasons the court had articulated for it. Howver it agreed that a judge has a duty to conduct himself in a manner not in conflict with the law.
The JSC said the complaint relating to misleading the court could not stand because it originated from a then member of the JSC, Adv Izak Smuts SC.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.