South African ex-top judge apologises for pro-Israeli remarks

South Africa's former chief justice on Thursday apologised for comments he made in 2020 pledging support for Israel in the pro-Palestine country.

The apology came nearly a year after Mogoeng Mogoeng, who is a devout Christian, was ordered to apologise for misconduct by getting entangled in political controversy, "criticising and proposing changes to the official policy of the South African Government towards Israel".

At the time of the offence in June 2020, he told an online conference organised by the Jerusalem Post, that South Africa deprived itself of "a wonderful opportunity of being a game-changer in the Israeli-Palestinian situation".

South African government supports the Palestinian cause and in 2019 it downgraded its embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office.

The country's Judiciary Conduct Committee which probed the judge's comments following a complaint, last year found the remarks "offending" and "particularly aggravating", and ordered him to apologise, but he appealed that decision.

But the earlier decision was upheld and on Thursday he said in a statement: "I am now forced by the law... to apologise unconditionally." The appeals panel found him to have involved himself in "extrajudicial activities".

He retired last year. Interviews for the new chief justice are underway this week.

The controversial judge also came under heavy criticism when he publicly prayed in December 2020 against "satanic" Covid-19 vaccines, asking God that they be "destroyed by fire".