The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa suspend Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, pending a vote by the National Assembly whether he should be impeached or not.
Hlophe was found guilty of misconduct in April 2021 in a saga which lasted for nearly a quarter of a century. He is the first judge in Democratic South Africa who faces impeachment.
In a statement issued late on Monday, the JSC said it had come to the decision that it should advise Ramaphosa to suspend Hlophe in terms of Section 177(3) of the Constitution. This follows a decision that the JSC made on 25 August 2021, which found Hlophe guilty of gross misconduct in terms of Section 20 (3) of the Judicial Service Act.
The decision comes after the full bench of the Johannesburg High Court dismissed Hlophe’s bid to overturn a Judicial Conduct Tribunal finding of gross misconduct against him.
Hlophe previously launched an urgent bid to try and prevent his possible suspension by Ramaphosa, as he tried to the JSC process which found him guilty of alleged gross misconduct for attempting to sway two Constitutional Court justices to rule in favour of former President Jacob Zuma in 2008, who was still the ANC President at the time.
During the tribunal hearing in December 2020 the chair, Judge Joop Labuschagne, poked stripped away Hlophe’s defence stating: “Throughout the 12-year period, the complaints has simply been that Hlophe had sought to improperly influence the outcome of the Zuma-Thint application pending in the Constitutional Court. Justice Bess Nkabinde and Justice Chris Jafta never changed their version of their encounters with Judge President Hlophe.
In response to Hlophe’s attempt to block his possible suspension on the findings of misconduct, the JSE had earlier said it would not recommend Ramaphosa to suspend Hlophe. Now after the High Court in Johannesburg ruling which found that there was gross misconduct, the JSC changed its position.
Source: News24, Daily Maverick, Business Day, image from