President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe, who is accused of gross misconduct, with immediate effect.
Hlophe will be permitted to complete all his ongoing cases, although it is unclear how that will happen.
His suspension was announced in a statement on Wednesday, with the presidency office saying it was based on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) in terms of Section 177(3) of the Constitution.
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“In order to ensure continuity and stability in the work of the divisional high court, the suspension which is in effect immediately, is on condition that Judge President Hlophe completes all part-heard matters and reserved judgments,” the statement reads.
The presidency explained that Ramaphosa received the JSC report on July 27.
“Due to the long history and complexity of the matter, President Ramaphosa took time to carefully consider all the permutations of the JSC recommendations, including obtaining guidance from an independent legal opinion.”
It was stated that the president felt the need to balance Hlophe’s rights with those of the public and judiciary as a whole.
“Section 177 (3) of the Constitution provides that the President, on the advice of the JSC, may suspend a judge who is the subject of a procedure in terms of subsection (1) that deals with the removal of a judge who is found guilty of gross misconduct.”
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“The Judicial Conduct Tribunal (JCT) concluded that Judge President Hlophe’s conduct breached the provisions of section 165 of the Constitution by improperly attempting to influence the two Justices of the Constitutional Court to violate their oaths of office.”
It was established by the JCT that Hlophe’s behaviour had serious interference with and threatened the fundamental values of the Constitutional Court: independence, impartiality, dignity and effectiveness.
“The JSC has referred the matter to parliament for the National Assembly to institute impeachment proceedings against Judge President Hlophe.”
The statement also says that Hlophe has been accused of alleged judiciary misconduct since 2008, after allegedly trying to improperly influence judges on matters regarding Jacob Zuma, SA’s former president.
“In May 2008, 11 Justices of the Constitutional Court lodged a complaint with the JSC against Judge President Hlophe for his improper attempt to influence the outcome of certain cases pending before the Constitutional Court in favour of former President Jacob Zuma.”
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Picture: eNCA