Office of Chief Justice warns of scam using retired judge Chris Jafta’s name

The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) on Tuesday warned the public that a person is impersonating retired Constitutional Court Justice Chris Jafta.

“The Justice brought to the attention of the OCJ that an individual impersonating the retired Justice, has contacted individuals using the name of the retired Justice,” the OCJ said.

It said the motives of the impersonator are not clear.

“The public is warned not to fall prey to this impersonator and need to be aware that impersonating a judicial officer is a criminal offence.”

It added that the public should the OCJ to verify any kind of communication from a judge.

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Jafta retired as a Constitutional Court justice in October 2021. He spent 12 years at South Africa’s apex court.

Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga impersonation

This is not the first time the OCJ has had to issue a warning of this nature in 2023.

In August, it cautioned the public about an individual pretending to be Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.

“The impersonator is said to extort money from unsuspecting individuals, intimidate private individuals, public officials, public office bearers and entities, including organs of state, for a variety of reasons, including attempting to access personal information of certain individuals. He does all this purporting to be Justice Madlanga,” it said.

At the time, it said the matter had been handed over to the police.

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