MK Party Says Blocking John Hlophe From JSC Duties Violates His Constitutional Rights

• The MK Party continued fighting for Parliamentary leader and Deputy President Dr John Hlophe's reinstatement to the Judicial Services Commission
• Hlophe resigned from the JSC after the Democratic Alliance filed a court application to prevent him from being involved in the JSC interviews
• The party said the Western Cape High Court's ruling infringed on his constitutional rights and is appealing it

With nine years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE—The MK Party appeared before the Western Cape High Court to appeal the ruling preventing party deputy president and Parliamentary leader John Hlophe from serving on the Judicial Service Commission. The party said it would appeal the court's decision.

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MK Party appeals court ruling

The party and Hlophe appeared before the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on 1 November to appeal the court's decision in September. The court said it would nominate Hlophe to serve on the JSC and represent the party, the official opposition, in Parliament. The court reserved its judgement.

The party said the court's ruling to prevent Hlophe from serving on the JSC violated his constitutional rights. The Democratic Alliance's attorney argued that appealing the decision with the Supreme Court of Appeal is pointless because Hlophe resigned.

The advocate also said it made no sense that the party did not know anything about his resignation and said an interim order could not be appealed. The respondents also slammed the party and Hlophe's comments about the Judiciary Services Commission.

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John Hlophe slams Democratic Alliance

In a related article, Briefly News reported that Hlophe came out guns blazing against the Democratic Alliance.

Hlophe accused the party of launching a hypocritical crusade against him after the Democratic Alliance filed an application to prevent him from serving on the Judicial Services Commission.

The DA argued that he could not serve on the JSC because he was impeached for trying to influence it to vote in favour of Jacob Zuma while he was president.

Source: Briefly News