Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
08 October 2024 | 12:36 p.m. CAT
2-minute read

Image: Judges Matter

The MK Party announced yesterday afternoon the withdrawal of former Judge President John Hlophe as a member of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which convened on Monday to conduct interviews of potential Supreme Court of Appeal judges.

The DA and other civil society organisations have welcomed the MK Party parliamentary leader’s resignation, citing Hlophe’s impeachment in February this year as a reason for the view that he is unsuitable to serve on the JSC.

“It’s a great victory for the rule of law,” said Advocate Glynis Breytenbach, a member of the National Assembly.

The JSC took the decision to proceed with the interviews despite Hlophe’s absence, with the spokesperson for the commission, Advocate Sesi Baloyi having said that the body was still correctly constituted and would proceed with this sitting over the next few weeks.

Rather than acting out of a feeling of moral obligation, the commissioner’s withdrawal seems to be another attempt to delay JSC proceedings.

“It’s really just a convoluted attempt to sabotage the sitting of the JSC,” Breytenbach opined.

In a letter of demand delivered to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya last week, the MK party threatened to take legal action unless the JSC postponed this week’s interviews. Although the MK party went to court, its urgent motion was rejected over the weekend by the Johannesburg High Court.

President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Hlophe from his duties as the head of the High Court’s Western Cape division during the latter part of last year, after which the JSC recommended that Hlophe be removed from office because it found he had engaged in gross misconduct by trying to persuade two justices of the constitutional court to rule in favour of former president Jacob Zuma in the arms deal corruption case. Upon these findings, Hlophe was impeached by the National Assembly in February this year.

Following the May elections, Hlophe joined Zuma’s MK Party as its parliamentary leader, after which the party nominated him as an opposition party representative on the JSC.

The Western Cape High Court last month issued an interim interdict preventing him from participating in the activities of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) following a legal challenge brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA), Freedom Under Law, and Corruption Watch.

Breytenbach noted that the party may continue its legal challenge to cement the principle that individuals with impeachment records cannot serve on bodies like the JSC.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.