Impeached former Western Cape judge president turned politician John Hlophe’s short stint as a commissioner in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) ended on Monday.
In a statement, the MK Party (MKP) said it has formally written to the speaker of the National Assembly to withdraw the nomination of HIophe, its parliamentary leader, as one of the designated members of the National Assembly to serve on the JSC.
Hlophe’s designation to the JSC has been mired in controversy. In February, he became the first judge to be impeached in democratic South Africa's history after the JSC recommended his removal.
However, the impeached judge made his way into politics when he was appointed parliamentary leader for the new MKP in June. His name was included as one of the members to represent the National Assembly in the JSC, a move that the DA opposed.
However, the majority of parliamentarians voted to have Hlophe as a member of the JSC.
This sparked several legal applications that were launched in the Western Cape High Court and the Constitutional Court against Hlophe’s designation.
There were three separate applications to the high court by the DA and NGOs Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law. AfriForum launched its own separate application directly to the Constitutional Court.
On September 27, the high court interdicted Hlophe from participating in JSC activities, pending a final decision on challenges to his designation as one of the representatives of the National Assembly on the JSC.
This meant Hlophe would not be participating in the current round of JSC interviews for judicial candidates, which started on Monday.
Dr Hlophe’s absence from the October 2024 sitting of the JSC is not merely justified: it is mandated by the [Western Cape] court’s order ... The JSC was accordingly correct to conclude it could lawfully proceed in Dr Hlophe’s absence
— Judge Stuart Wilson
The party wrote a letter to the JSC last Monday requesting that the interviews be postponed in light of the interim interdict by the high court. The MKP told the JSC that as a result of the interdict against Hlophe, the JSC was not properly constituted and that decisions it would make in the scheduled interviews would be unlawful and invalid.
The JSC met and declined the request for a postponement. It said the JSC was properly constituted because the court did not set aside the decision of the National Assembly to designate Hlophe to the JSC and he remained a member of the JSC. The JSC said it would be able to conduct its business while Hlophe remained under the interdict order.
The JSC also decided that the applications for leave to appeal the interim interdict order by Hlophe did not preclude it from proceeding with the interviews as scheduled.
After this reply, the MKP and Hlophe launched an urgent bid to stop the JSC interviews from proceeding. The application was heard on Friday and judge Stuart Wilson dismissed this application on Saturday.
Wilson said: “Dr Hlophe’s absence from the October 2024 sitting of the JSC is not merely justified: it is mandated by the [Western Cape] court’s order ... The JSC was accordingly correct to conclude it could lawfully proceed in Dr Hlophe’s absence.”
The JSC began to interview shortlisted on candidates Monday.
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