Western Cape High Court Rules That John Hlophe’s Appointment to the JSC Was Unconstitutional

• The MK Party lost the battle to have its deputy president, Dr John Hlophe, reinstated on the Judicial Services Commission
• Hlophe resigned from the JSC after the Democratic Alliance and AfriForum challenged his appointment to the JSC in court
• The Western Cape High Court ruled that his appointment was unconstitutional and invalid, and he and the MK Party have been ordered to pay legal costs for the insults that were made in public

With 10 years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system, crime statistics, and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun.

CAPE TOWN, WESTERN CAPE — The Western Cape High Court has ruled that Dr john Hlophe's appointment to the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) was unconstitutional and invalid. The MK Party and Hlophe have been ordered to pay punitive costs for public insults about the case.

MKP, Hlophe lose JSC court case

According to Eyewitness News, the court set the National Assembly's decision to endorse the recommendation of Hliphe to the commission aside. Hlooiphe was elected to serve as one of the six parliamentarians on the JSC. It found that he was unfit to serve on the JSC. The court also ruled that he and the MK Party must pay punitive costs for any insult made about the case.

Why can Hlophe not serve on the JSC?

Hlophe was impeached in 2024 after the JSC found him guilty of misconduct. This was after he tried to influence constitutional judges to vote in favour of former President Jacob Zuma in his 2008 arms deal case.

Justices Bess Nkabinde and Chris Jafta formally lodged complaints against Hlophe and accused him of trying to influence them to vote in Zuma's favour. Hliophe, who was the former Judge President of the Western Cape, is the first judge post-apartheid to be impeached.

What you need to know about Hlophe's case

• Afriforum filed papers with the Constitutional Court in July 2024 to declare Hophe's appointment to the JSC invalid
• The MK Party threw its support behind Hlophe and said he was qualified to serve on the JSC
• Hlophe resigned from the JSC in October amid the case between his party, the Democratic Alliance, and AfriForum
• The MK Party said it would fight for Hlophe in court despite his resignation from the JSC
• The MK Party said Hlophe's constitutional rights were violated after the Western Cape High Court reserved its judgment against him

MK Party denies rift between Hlophe and Mzwanele Manyi

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the MK Party denied that there was tension between Hlophe and Mzwanele Manyi. This was after Hlophe and Manyi allegedly got into an altercation.

Hlophe reportedly caused Manyi to sabotage him when he wrote a speech that Hlophe delivered during the State of the Nation Address in Parliament. Zuma was reportedly unhappy with the speech. However, the party poured cold water over the allegations and said the senior leaders are on good terms.

Source: Briefly News