Mzwanele Manyi Defends Advocate Dali Mpofu’s Position on the JSC Panel Amidst Removal Calls

• Advocate Dali Mpofu was included on the Judicial Service Commission panel to interview Chief Justice candidates
• There have been calls for him to be removed from the panel due to his political affiliations and inappropriate line of questioning
• Mzwanele Manyi, however, believes that Mpofu is in his right to be on the panel and should not be removed

JOHANNESBURG - Different groups and individuals have called for EFF member Advocate Dali Mpofu to be removed from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) panel, which is interviewing candidates for appointment to Chief Justice of South Africa.

One such call came from DA federal leader Helen Zille, who said that the inclusion of politicians on the JSC panel contravenes the separation between the three branches of government, therefore making it inappropriate.

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Hands off Dali Mpofu trends online amidst calls for his removal from the JSC

Mzwanele Manyi, from the African Transformation Movement (ATM), has defended Mpofu's place on the panel. Manyi said white people who called for Mpofu's removal from the JSC panel are against him because he is a black man who does not seek validation from them, TimesLIVE reports.

Mpofu's response to calls for his removal from the JSC panel

According to 702, Mpofu welcomed public comments on the JSC interview process, including the panellists. While he sees public comment as an integral part of a healthy democracy, Mpofu feels some critics have taken things too far.

“Criticism is fine but some people have gone beyond and have been hurling insults and that is obviously unwelcome,” said Mpofu.

Some people felt that Mpofu's line of questioning during particular JSC interviews was unprofessional. The advocate disagrees, saying that questions were candidate-specific and spoke to their positionality and experience.

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Dali Mpofu's Display at Chief Justice Interviews Shameful, Says SA's Bar Council

South Africans react to Manyi's defence of Mpofu

@sphephelo_cele remarked:

"The people's advocate."

@baggyrid believes:

"Dali for sure is a master at exploiting opportunism. He takes everyone for a ride and laughs all the way to the bank! When are they going to learn?"

@MakhuvhaDavid asked:

"Does this Manyi person have no job to do?"

@SeanP88ZA said:

"Nice intellectually lazy take once again. You have no arguments, just insults for those who don't parrot your propaganda."

#HandsOffDaliMpofu trends online amidst calls for his removal from the JSC

In earlier news about calls for Mpofu's removal from the JSC panel, Briefly News reports that Advocate Dali Mpofu's conduct as a commissioner at the Judicial Service Commission has come under heavy scrutiny, with now certain organisations stating that he should no longer be a part of the JSC.

Despite the heavy criticism from some of Mpofu's peers and Media24 editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson, who wrote an opinion piece targeting Mpofu, at least 20 advocates have come in defence of Mpofu.

In his op-ed, Basson referred to Mpofu as a "nincompoop" and a "scoundrel" and the advocates have written a letter in response to these remarks and have accused Basson of making remarks that had colonial racist undertones.

Source: Briefly News