‘Devil’ Covid-19 vaccine remarks return to haunt chief justice Mogoeng

Health advocacy organisation, African Alliance, is not letting Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng off the hook yet after the “false and dangerous” Covid-19 vaccine claims he made last year.

The organisation has laid a formal complaint with the Judicial Service Commission against Mogoeng.

In December, Mogoeng found himself at the centre of the storm following his remarks about the vaccine, saying “any vaccine that is of the devil, meant to infuse 666 in the lives of people, meant to corrupt their DNA any such vaccine, Lord God Almighty, let it be destroyed by fire”.

Soon after, he defended himself a number of times, saying he had the right to express his beliefs and that “whoever wants to run wild” with his comments was “free to do that”.

According to the organisation, Mogoeng’s remarks imply that vaccines can be dangerous with no factual basis.

“By doing this, his statements as a highly visible civil servant undermine the public’s confidence in life-saving and scientifically-tested vaccines.“

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“Let’s be clear: Vaccines are not made by the devil and do not change your DNA,” said African Alliance head Tian Johnson in a statement.

“The African Alliance believes Mogoeng acted in a manner incompatible with or unbecoming of a holder of a judicial office and violated the code of judicial conduct,” reads the statement.

“We now call on the judicial conduct committee to urgently review and deal with the complaint to protect the public investments made in a Covid-19 vaccine.”

The organisation said it was concerned that Mogoeng was one of several public leaders and political figures that have peddled misinformation during the Covid-19 outbreak.

“What public officials say matters. When what they say puts lives at risk and spreads dangerous lies about vaccines, we will hold them to account,” Johnson says.

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