JUST IN: JSC interviews to continue without Hlophe after MK party’s case dismissed

Former judge John Hlophe will remain barred from attending the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviews after the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party lost its legal battle.

The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg delivered its judgment on the MK party’s urgent application, just one day after hearing arguments from all parties involved.

Judge Stuart Wilson dismissed the application on Saturday.

The MK party challenged the JSC’s decision not to accept its request to postpone the interviews set for 7 to 16 October.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) had argued in court on Friday that the postponement would have led to wasteful expenditure of R3 million.

Hlophe excluded from JSC interviews

The JSC will conduct interviews to fill vacancies in various courts, including the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) and the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

But Hlophe was excluded from the process following the DA and Corruption Watch’s successful bid to obtain an interdict preventing him from participating in the interviews.

The Western Cape High Court granted an interim order pending the outcome of a review application, which seeks to overturn Parliament’s decision to appoint Hlophe to the JSC.

ALSO READ: Mpofu uses Zille’s ‘flip-flopping’ to argue why Hlophe should stay in JSC

Hlophe was one of the six Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the National Assembly to the JSC in July 2024.

The move came months after the MK party’s deputy president and parliamentary leader was impeached as a judge.

MK party appeals interdict

The Western Cape High Court has agreed to hear the MK party’s appeal on 1 November, according to the party’s parliamentary chief whip, Mzwanele Manyi.

“This vindicates the MK party position that the postponement of the sitting will not be prolonged.
Rule of law, not politics, must be allowed to guide the JSC,” Manyi said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The MK party further released a statement, emphasising that the high court’s ruling was “riddled with glaring legal errors” and “misdirections”.

“Moreover, the ruling poses a serious threat to the doctrine of separation of powers whilst overreaching into the political sphere and tempering with matters of the National Assembly’s powers and privileges.

“The judiciary should not interfere even lightly with decisions reached democratically by elected representatives after thorough debate and voting in Parliament,” the party’s statement reads.

Meanwhile, AfriForum, in a separate case, has taken their challenge to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).

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