{"id":73428,"date":"2024-09-07T18:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T18:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case"},"modified":"2024-09-07T18:42:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-07T18:42:00","slug":"hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case","title":{"rendered":"Hlophe could become president and hand-pick judiciary: Mpofu in JSC case"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Impeached judge-turned-MP John Hlophe could, as leader of the MK Party in parliament, become president and have complete control over judicial appointments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe could hand-pick anyone he wants for chief justice, the entire judiciary, but according to the DA he cannot sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which is only an advisory body,\u201d MK Party advocate Dali Mpofu submitted on Friday.<\/p>\n

This, he said, highlighted the absurdity of the challenges brought by the DA, Corruption Watch and Freedom Under Law (FUL) who are seeking court orders overturning the National Assembly vote, by majority, in favour of his appointment to the JSC.<\/p>\n

Mpofu said even murderers, after serving their time in prison, could become MPs five years later which would entitle them to be appointed to the JSC. He accused the applicants of being a \u201cracist cabal\u201d who launched an \u201cavalanche of attack from all corners\u201d against Hlophe in an effort to impoverish him and the MK Party.<\/p>\n

The applicants say the National Assembly did not properly consider whether Hlophe should have been nominated and the impact of having an impeached judge sitting on a body which interviews and makes recommendations for judicial appointments.<\/p>\n

They say the decision was irrational and had been based on \u201ca convention\u201d in which political parties accepted the nominations of others without demur.<\/p>\n

Mpofu said the matter was only in court because the DA lost the vote (in the National Assembly) and the applicants were seeking to change the constitution through the backdoor.<\/p>\n

In replying arguments before judges Selby Baqwa, Johannes Daffue and Colleen Collis, sitting in the Western Cape High Court, advocate Wim Trengove, for FUL which is asking for final relief, said the court could decide a constitutional issue and, citing case law, he said courts should not shy away from ruling in matters where a case had been made.<\/p>\n

This in spite of a similar challenge by AfriForum pending before the Constitutional Court.<\/p>\n

Trengove said the evidence showed MPs \u201chad adhered to the convention\u201d, and the ANC in particular, believed it had no choice because of a lacuna in the law in what was an unprecedented matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur case is not against Hlophe. It’s against the National Assembly that we say failed to exercise its public power in the public interest. That is why it’s unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocate Michael Bishop, for the DA, which with Corruption Watch, is only seeking an interdict preventing Hlophe from sitting on the JSC pending a review or a decision by the apex court, said the legality of Hlophe\u2019s impeachment was irrelevant and \u201cwe accept that he is an MP\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about amending the constitution to impose restrictions on impeached judges. It’s about applying the principles of rationality and complying with the constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The JSC had to have public credibility \u201cand we accept ordinarily an MP would be able to satisfy that, but when a person undermines that credibility, that person cannot be designated without exercising a discretion\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Bishop urged the court to grant the interim relief, even if it granted final relief in FUL\u2019s matter. This was because if the final relief was granted, and Hlophe appealed that, then that order would be suspended. However, any appeal against an interim order did not suspend the order \u201cand we want to prevent Hlophe attending the JSC\u2019s October session\u201d.<\/p>\n

Advocate Mitchell de Beer, for Corruption Watch, submitted Hlophe was impeached in February this year, relating to conduct in 2008 for attempting to influence Constitutional Court judges to find in favour of Jacob Zuma, and \u201cthe first thing he does is join Zuma\u2019s political party\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here because he still refuses to appreciate the gravity of his conduct and the impact it could have on the independence of the judiciary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Judgment was reserved, but it is expected a ruling will be given before the JSC session in October.<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Impeached judge-turned-MP John Hlophe could, as leader of the MK Party in parliament, become president and have complete control over judicial appointments. \u201cHe could hand-pick anyone he wants for chief justice, the entire judiciary, but according to the DA he cannot sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which is only an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":73427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-73428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nHlophe could become president and hand-pick judiciary: Mpofu in JSC case - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hlophe could become president and hand-pick judiciary: Mpofu in JSC case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – South-Africa. Impeached judge-turned-MP John Hlophe could, as leader of the MK Party in parliament, become president and have complete control over judicial appointments. \u201cHe could hand-pick anyone he wants for chief justice, the entire judiciary, but according to the DA he cannot sit on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) which is only an […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-07T18:42:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Hlophe could become president and hand-pick judiciary: Mpofu in JSC case\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-07T18:42:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\"},\"wordCount\":672,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/09\/Hazrati1725721947.027458.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/hlophe-could-become-president-and-hand-pick-judiciary-mpofu-in-jsc-case\",\"name\":\"Hlophe could become president and hand-pick judiciary: Mpofu in JSC case - 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