Former Western Cape judge president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party chief whip John Hlophe. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach
Former Western Cape High Court judge John Hlophe will serve as a Judicial Service Commission (JSC) member despite objections to his nomination.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly convened a sitting at the Cape Town City Hall to elect house chairpersons and representatives to serve in various forums such as the Pan-African Parliament and the JSC.
Hlophe, who is the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s chief whip in Parliament, was nominated to be a member of the JSC.
During the plenary session, Democratic Alliance (DA) MP George Michalakis noted that although it was the MK party’s prerogative to decide which person to send to the JSC, the party objected to Hlophe’s nomination.
“It is a matter of public record that Dr Hlophe lost the status as a judge of the high court of South Africa as a consequence of a finding of gross misconduct by the Judicial Service Commission.
“The decision to be taken today is furthermore not merely a political decision, but the exercise of a public power aimed at contributing to the establishment of the very same Judicial Service Commission,” said Michalakis on Tuesday.
“In the circumstances, it is the legal requirement of the National Assembly to act in a reasonable and rational manner,” he said.
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“We are strongly of the view that it is neither reasonable nor rational to elect Dr Hlophe as representative of the National Assembly on the Judicial Service Commission,” he said.
Michalakis warned of the possibility of future candidates requesting for Hlophe’s recusal during JSC interviews for court appointments.
The DA MP emphasised that Hlophe’s gross misconduct finding rendered him unfit to serve on the JSC.
“This poses the risk of paralysing the JSC and tying it up in endless review processes,” Michalakis added.
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and Freedom Front (FF) Plus also opposed Hlophe serving on the JSC.
MK party MP Sihle Ngubane defended the party’s chief whip, asserting that the party cannot be dictated to regarding the selection of its preferred candidates for the JSC.
Ngubane described the objection as “constitutionally repulsive”.
“More importantly, the rules of the National Assembly do not prescribe the minimum requirement for the delegation or appointment of members to any of its forums such as the JSC.
“The MK party has done a huge justice to the House to bring into the lawmaking House a PhD graduate in law from [the University of] Cambridge to come and assist the House to make the laws of this country,” he said.
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Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu also fully supports Hlophe, criticising some of the DA’s ministers who, despite lacking qualifications, serve in Cabinet.
In addition, the ANC, the African Transformation Movement (ATM), Al Jama-ah, the United Africans Transformation (UAT) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) backed Hlophe.
Hlophe will serve in the JSC alongside ANC MPs, Molapi Soviet Lekganyane and Fasiha Hassan; DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach; EFF leader Julius Malema and ActionSA’s Athol Trollip.
Judiciary monitoring group, Judges Matter, has since expressed disappointment over the National Assembly electing Hlophe to the JSC.
The organisation said it believe the move undermined the credibility of the JSC and the integrity of the judiciary.
“It is a cruel irony that aspirant judicial officers will be assessed on their ethics, integrity and fitness for judicial office by commissioners who themselves have been found guilty of misconduct.
“Judges Matter reiterates our call for a written code of conduct for all commissioners, with a mechanism to recall those commissioners who do not uphold the terms of the code,” Judges Matter researcher, Mbekezeli Benjamin said in a statement.
NOW READ: ‘Hlophe and Mkhwebane don’t represent me’ claims ActionSA leader
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