Ramaphosa removes judges Hlophe and Motata from judicial office

06 March 2024 - 17:51 By TimesLIVE
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed judges John Hlophe and Nkola Motata after they were impeached by the National Assembly in February. File photo.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed judges John Hlophe and Nkola Motata after they were impeached by the National Assembly in February. File photo.
Image: Anton Scholtz

President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed judges John Hlophe and Nkola Motata from judicial office after the National Assembly resolutions to remove them. 

The Presidency said the constitution says a judge may be removed from office only if the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) finds that the judge suffers from an incapacity, is grossly incompetent or is guilty of gross misconduct; and the National Assembly calls for that judge to be removed, by a resolution adopted with a supporting vote of at least two thirds of its members.

The constitution says the president must remove a judge from office upon adoption of a resolution calling for that judge to be removed. 

Hlophe became the first judge in the history of South Africa to be impeached from judicial office after the vote in parliament on February 21. 

A total of 305 MPs voted for the removal of Hlophe, with 27 members voting against his removal. There were 296 MPs who voted for Motata’s removal, with one voting against and 13 MPs abstaining. 

The JSC found Hlophe guilty of gross misconduct, saying he attempted to influence, improperly, Constitutional Court judges Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta to decide matters in favour of particular litigants. 

Retired judge Motata was found guilty of gross misconduct after a drunk-driving conviction in 2009. 

TimesLIVE


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