Impeached judge John Hlophe to sit on JSC

MK chief whip and impeached judge John Hlophe was successfully elected to represent the National Assembly on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), at a sitting of the assembly on Tuesday. 

The ANC supported the MK party’s nomination of Hlophe on the grounds that neither the rules of the National Assembly nor the constitution stipulated the qualifications required of an MP to sit on the JSC. 

ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli said until the rules and constitution were changed, the established convention that political parties could nominate their own representatives to the JSC had to be respected. There could be no deviation from this convention.

The DA, FF+ and ACDP objected to Hlophe’s nomination saying it was irrational and undesirable for an impeached judge to sit on the JSC, the role of which is to appoint judges to the judiciary. 

The support of the ANC and the rejection by the DA meant that there was no united position by parties in the government of national unity (GNU) on the issue.

Civil society organisations have vehemently opposed the membership of Hlophe on the JSC.

The other members elected by the National Assembly were Molapi Lekganyane and Fasiha Hassan from the ANC, EFF leader Julius Malema, the DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach and Action SA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.

ensorl@businesslive.co.za