Alleged racist Judge Mabel Jansen has been placed on special leaving following complaints of her comments on Facebook.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha also approved the appointment of an acting judge in the meantime.
While Judge Jansen will be taking a break from the public eye, another well-known public figure came out in support of her.
On Tuesday, controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr tweeted: “#MabelJansen #denial All nations rape & murder, but in the rape capitol [sic] of the world disproportionate contributions should be checked.”
Hofmeyr also tweeted the question: “How wrong was Mabel Jansen” with a link to a blog with the title: “Judge Mabel Jansen is 100% correct”.
Judge Jansen caused a public outcry after stating that rape was part of black people’s culture.
In a private conversation with a friend on Facebook, she also said the gang-rape of a baby, daughter and a mother was “a pleasurable past time” for black males, and that she was yet to meet a black woman who wasn’t raped by age 12.
She defended her comments saying it was made “to help a friend”, and that it was taken out of context.
The conversation happened last year, but was posted on Twitter by a journalist at the weekend.
The Black Lawyers Association condemned her comments and called for a review of all Jansen’s cases.
The Judicial Conduct Committee will now consider the complaints, and whether they are of a serious enough nature to warrant a judicial conduct tribunal.