Masutha: Mabel Jansen was overwhelmed by public attention

Jansen who was placed under special leave made comments on Facebook in 2015, including that 99% of the criminal cases she heard were of black fathers/uncles and brothers raping children as young as five. 

In a private message with social activist and filmmaker Gillian Schutte, Jansen said in black culture, "a women is there to pleasure" men, that women tell their children it is their father's birth right to be the first, and that gang rapes of babies, mothers and daughters were a "pleasurable pass time".

Masutha says Jansen was overwhelmed by the fallout.

"My understanding is that she felt overwhelmed by the public discourse that this triggered as a result of the publication of her remarks which seemed to be racist. She felt that she was subject to a court of public opinion unfairly and felt that the best way to deal with the mess was to release herself" he says. 

Masutha says Jansen's resignation ends the disciplinary process. 

"Any loss of expertise in any area of our public services for whatever reason will always be a loss which will create a gap. There is a lot of work that needs to be done and there is never a lot of hands to do it. At the same time the judiciary needs to lead by example and uphold the constitution by promoting a culture of non-racism and if these incidents happen at that level the damage it causes in society is quite significant" says Masutha.